


A Little Problem

by Sabrieltrash11



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Avengers, Age Regression/De-Aging, Babies, Babysitting, Bed-Wetting, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce has a stutter, Canada, Children, Cute, Domestic, Domestic Avengers, Family, I went crazy with this im sorry, JARVIS is ALIVE, M/M, Moving, Parents, Phil Coulson is alive, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), School, They all need cuddles, Time Out, Toddlers, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, clint is a little shit, little Avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 07:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14015040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sabrieltrash11/pseuds/Sabrieltrash11
Summary: “That’s enough for now I think. Little Avengers probably need a nap, don’t want them to get fussy."She snapped her fingers and a green fog suddenly started rolling towards the team.Steve ordered at retreat, which was easier said then done as she had backed them into a corner. Before anyone could go a few steps in any direction the fog swallowed them whole.***“Why are they kids?” Sam demanded, breaking the tense silence. Scott looked up, finally checking the rest of their team mates. Sure enough, they all were noticeably smaller, but it was Bruce and Tony that made his eyes widen.





	A Little Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This story will be three chapters long. Becoming children, being children, and turning back into adults. This will be a long fic, just warning you. Also, if there's no name at the top of a section, it's third person.
> 
> So the time line of this is a bit wonky. Almost everything is cannon up until the end of Civil War. Phil is alive, Peitro is alive, JARVIS is alive. Everything else is the same.
> 
> The next chapter will not be up for a while because of university and stuff but it will be up I promise.

 

**Phil**

“I want to watch Terminator.”

  
“Its Disney night,” Natasha reminded Tony, tucking her feet under Clint's legs, “that’s not a Disney film."

  
“I could make it a Disney film” Tony replied, already reaching for his Stark tablet on the coffee table. A chorus of “no's" stopped him, including JARVIS, much to Phil's amusement.

  
“I thought we were watching Mulan? That one’s my favorite!” Wanda said, entering the sitting room with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a can of sprite in the other.

  
“Bucky still hasn’t seen it" Steve mentioned from the ground where him and Bucky were playing cards while they waited for the team to settle in. Phil had offered them the love seat, but they had politely declined, claiming the carpet was fine.

  
“Mulan it is!” Tony announced, “JARVIS tell Pietro, Thor and Scott to stop raiding the fridge and join us or I'm taking their upgrades back."  
“Of course sir" the A.I replied.

  
Two minutes later the boys entered, arms full of food and whispering to each other about something.

  
“What's so secretive?” Sam asked them. He was in between Phil and Tony and had up until this point been reading a big red book. Phil thought it had something to do with God’s.

  
“Your love life" Scott replied, “come on, tell us her name."

  
Sam groaned, “Never mind! Keep your secrets! JARVIS play the movie."

  
Phil sighed, half in amusement and half in contentment. Friday night movie nights had been a thing since it was just the six Avengers, plus Phil, back in the tower. It had been Tony's idea of a bonding activity and had stuck with them through the years.

  
At first, the team was very hesitant around each other. It had taken a lot of persuading just to get them all living together. Phil’s ‘death’ had played a big roll in that unfortunately. What had brought them together in the heat of the battle had been what kept them apart in the end. They had realized they only worked well together because they were forced to, and that had broken the camels back so to speak. After Fury decided to graciously tell them he was alive, a lot of damage had already been taken that would take years to fix.

  
Phil had been appointed as the Avengers handler. It was a huge honor, he knew, but those first couple of months had been hell. The team just couldn’t work together outside of battle. They were too different, too wrapped up in their own worlds and pain that they were missing a huge opportunity for a family.

  
Phil had grown tired of having to run from one side of the tower to talk to one Avenger then having to run to the other side to talk to another. He called them for a meeting, sat them down, and laid all their problems out and asked for suggestions.

  
It was Tony, of course it was Tony, who suggested movie night, and suddenly it was the new thing.

  
They began to really meet each other. They learned from one another and actually spoke to each other. They began to learn they could work together, not just in battle, and it made a world of difference.

  
As the team grew, first with Sam, Pietro and Wanda then later on Bucky and Scott (plus the occasional Rhodey when he had time off and Peter when not in school), more room was needed to hold them all comfortably. When turning the old warehouse into the new Avengers compound, Tony had planned ahead. The area had a bedroom for each Avenger plus a few extras in case they continued to grow, a fully stalked kitchen with everything Steve needed to make Sunday breakfast's, and a huge sitting room with two loveseats and a humongous couch along the far wall. The idea had been a place they could all relax comfortably and do team bonding activities without having to worry about going back to their apartments or houses after. It was easily everyone’s favorite time of the week.

  
As the team all relaxed as the girls on screen sang about honor, Phil couldn’t help but look around at his team and feel pride surge through him at how far they'd all come.

  
Natasha and Clint had taken over a loveseat with Clint draped over the arm of one end and Natasha draped over the other end, a bowl of spicy popcorn between them.

  
Bucky and Steve were tangled up together on the floor, Bucky's face twisted in thought as he watched how they got Mulan ready. The winter soldier had come so far from the mess of hydra thanks to Tony, Bruce, and Steve and had fit in comfortably with the team, being healed enough now to even help on Avengers missions much to Steve's happiness.

  
Thor, Scott, Bruce and Pietro sat on the big couch watching with various levels of interest. Bruce was curled into a ball at one end and was more interested in the book he had been reading then the movie, but he looked up from time to time to make a comment on the scene or tell Tony quite fondly to shut up. Thor and Scott were quietly arguing about how woman fought in an army (Scott arguing woman would fight fine, but would fight better with other woman fighting too, probably thinking of his daughter, Cassie. Thor arguing that woman fight better independently, continuously mentioning someone named Sif). Pietro was braiding his sister’s hair, who was sitting at his feet and handing him handfuls of popcorn from the bowl in her lap every so often. Phil remembered Wanda's protectiveness being at full power for weeks after Pietro almost died during the battle in Sokovia. It was nice to see her more relaxed now.

  
Tony and Sam were completely ignoring the movie, and instead were having a conversation beside Phil about the Falcon wings. Tony was practically pleading to let him upgrade them, but Sam was incredibly possessive.

  
Phil's eyes were pulled back to Clint, relaxed and quiet for once. The other man had a small smile on his face as Natasha made notes on Mulan's fighting skills. He must have felt Phil staring because he glanced his way and made eye contact. Clint’s eyes and smile softened into something more private, like the two of them were sharing a secret in a room full of people. Phil felt his own mouth curving up at him.

  
Yeah, Phil though, things were good.

*******

  
Of course, that’s when everything would blow up in their faces.

  
Three days after that movie night, the team was called to assemble in Manhattan. A green skinned woman was blowing up buildings with blue puffs of smoke that melted anything, including the Ironman armor and the Falcon wings much to Sam and Tony's horror after a particularly close encounter for Tony, and Sam getting too close. Since the incident the team had kept its distance, preferring to make attacks from afar then risk being caught in the fog.

  
“This lady is asking for an ass whipping.” Tony complained over the comm's.

  
“Focus Ironman" Steve warned, knowing Tony’s habit of complaining all throughout the battle.

  
Thor's lightning had little to no effect on her, same with Clint's arrows and Natasha's bullets. Steve and Bucky had started throwing huge chunks of building at her, which only worked if the piece was big enough to not melt all the way before impact.

  
Wanda’s magic was pushed aside by some kind of force field, making her almost completely useless in this fight. Pietro too, was running out of idea's after he ran through the fog and melted half his uniform off.

  
“Ouch! Speed isn't key here guys, sorry" the man hissed in pain through the comm's.

  
“What did I tell you about quoting Jacksepticeye in the middle of battle?” Wanda hissed back at her brother as she followed the super soldier’s idea and started throwing heavy stuff at the lady.

  
“Less chat on the comm's please" Phil reminded them all in their ears.

  
Sam and Scott were benched after the Falcon wings were unfortunately melted, and Scott's suit started acting up from some of the witches magic.

  
“She threw some kind of blue energy ball at me,” Scott reported in as he ducked into an abandoned building, “my suit is fried! Hunk is going to murder me!”

  
“Stick with Sam, we'll handle it from here" Steve ordered.

  
Things were going from bad to worse and the team was getting tired.

  
Suddenly, after what seemed like hours, the lady began to laugh.

  
“Puny Avengers, this is child's play! Without real magic yourselves, you will never defeat me. Your pathetic excuse for a witch can’t even get through my barrier! How disappointing."

  
She flung an arm out and suddenly Clint was sent flying from his perch on the roof top. Tony caught him mid-fall and landed him gently on the ground.

  
“Legolas, I've got better things to do then save your shiny arse"

  
“Fuck you Stark!” Clint snapped, notching another arrow and firing at the lady.

  
It was right then that the Hulk made an appearance, a last effort on Phil's part to end this. The sight of their green friend gave the team some renewed strength and they attacked again with more enthusiasm then before.

  
The lady only laughed, teleporting a few feet away and sending Tony flinging backwards with a flick of her wrist. He hit the pavement and remained still.

  
“Shit! Bucky, help him!” Steve snapped.

  
Bucky ran over to their fallen team mate while Steve threw another piece of building at her, likely as an attempted diversion.

  
The Hulk didn’t appreciate being ignored and made another flying leap at the lady, only for her to teleport away again at the last second. She reappeared behind the team, smiling with all her yellow teeth.

  
“That’s enough for now I think. Little Avengers probably need a nap, don’t want them to get fussy."

  
She snapped her fingers and a green fog suddenly started rolling towards the team.

  
Steve ordered at retreat, which was easier said then done as she had backed them into a corner. Before anyone could go a few steps in any direction the fog swallowed them whole.

*******

  
**Scott**

  
Scott bit his lip to keep from screaming as the rest of the team disappeared into the fog. He watched with shock and a bit of fear as the lady gave one last laugh and disappeared entirely. He shared a look with Sam, then they were both running.

  
Phil met them halfway, and the three of them sprinted towards the alleyway where the fog was quickly disappearing, leaving the very-obviously-knocked-out body’s of their team mates.

  
As they got closer though, Scott felt himself freeze.

  
Pietro, who was the closest, was noticeably smaller. His clothes were pooled around his frame in a way it never had before and a little hand lay on his chest clearly connected to his arm. A drizzle of blood ran down his head and that was all Scott needed to move again.

  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Phil run to Clint a few feet away, easily identified by the broken bow clinched in his tiny right hand. Sam ran for Steve and Bucky on the far side of the alley.

  
Scott lifted Pietro’s head, trying not to notice how much younger he looked and focused on the head injury. It wasn’t bad, but Scott could see it would leave a scar.

  
“Why are they kids?” Sam demanded, braking the tense silence. Scott looked up, finally checking the rest of their team mates. Sure enough, they all were noticeably smaller, but it was Bruce and Tony that made his eyes widen.

  
He set Pietro’s head down gently before running over to the destroyed Iron Man armor. The suit was in millions of pieces scattered around a tiny baby swimming in Tony's clothing. If he thought Pietro was small, he was nothing compared to these two. Not five feet away, another tiny baby was swimming in Bruce’s stretchy pants. Both children were dead to the world but a quick check indicated both were breathing.

  
“The spell must have de-aged them…” he answered Sam's earlier question. Sam was over by Wanda and Natasha now, checking for pulses.  
“What do we do?” Sam asked Phil. Phil was busy trying to wake Steve and Bucky, the only two who didn’t look younger then 10. The man gave a shaky sigh before strengthening up, Agent Coulson coming back out.

  
“We move them all into the jet and take them home. The press will be here soon, we need to be gone by then."

  
Scott gulped, thinking of the press learning about this.

  
“Or anyone with a camera" Sam said, nodding towards a security camera at the end of the alleyway. Phil cursed.

  
With great care, Scott lifted Tony onto one shoulder and Bruce onto the other, a little freaked out by how little they both were. He watched Phil scoop Clint up and Sam Wanda before they set off to the jet. It was a good five minute walk there and Scott’s arms were sore by the time Tony and Bruce were carefully laid on the ground, worried about them falling off the seats. Then they turned around again to go get the others.

  
Scott carefully hoisted Pietro up and felt a shiver go through him at the sight of burns all over his small body. He had almost forgotten the fast man’s close call earlier, he would need proper treatment.

  
“Should we be taking them to medical?” Scott asked as the headed back to the jet, Phil with Natasha now and Sam with Thor.

  
“No,” Phil shook his head, “the less people who know, the better. We'll bring some select medical staff to us. In the meantime, Scott, I want you to stay on the Jet while we go back to get Steve and Bucky and call Peter and Rhodey. We need the rest of the team ready In case the woman comes back."

  
Scott and Sam both mumbled agreement, sharing a look.

  
When they reached the jet, Scott gently laid Pietro down on his side to avoid his major burns on his back and pulled out his phone as Phil and Sam set off again. He dialed Peter's number first, sitting on the ground beside Tony to check him for more injures. The teen picked up on the second ring.

  
“Scott? Everything okay? I'm watching the news right now but no one is getting close enough to see you guys and-"

  
Scott cut him off before the kid could work himself into a panic, “We're all fine, don't worry. But uh, the green lady threw some magic at most of the team and now they're all kids so I need you to be ready if a call comes in because you’re needed."

  
Silence.

  
Scott shuffled over to Bruce and slowly wrapped the baby up tighter in his purple stretch pants. It would be just their luck if the kids got sick before they could figure out how to change them back. He knew from Cassie that sick children are never fun to deal with.

  
He had moved on to Clint by the time Peter exploded.

  
Scott flinched away from his phone as Peter first demanded he admit to this being a joke, only to switch to freaking out about the greater responsibility on their shoulders now that the team was significantly smaller, following and ending with worry and panic over their well being. Scott didn’t even bother trying to interrupt until the teenager was calm enough to listen, and by that time Phil and Sam were laying Steve and Bucky on the ground beside the twins.

  
Seeing that Scott had his hands full with a frantic teen, Sam settled in beside Steve and called Rhodey while Phil got in the pilot’s seat and got them ready for take off.

  
“Peter,” Scott started gently, “you can come by and help us if you need to, but everyone is fine and I know you have school. We'll only call if it’s an emergency-”

  
“Is Mr. Stark okay?” Peter suddenly interrupted, seemingly horrified he hadn’t already asked.

  
“He's fine, I literally just told you everyone was fine."

  
“Yeah but, like, how old is he? Is he old enough to figure this out? What about Bruce?”

  
“Uh" he looked over at the sleeping Tony now on Sam's lap, then at Bruce curled up beside Natasha. “Not really.”

  
“Do they even know who you are? Like, is it just their body that shrunk or was it their minds too?”

  
Scott gulped. He hadn’t thought of that.

  
“We don’t know yet, they haven't even woken up."

  
Peter made a sound in the back of his throat, then took a deep breath in to steady himself.

  
“I’ll be at the compound tomorrow. I’ll get Aunt May to call in for me, my team comes before school."

  
Scott felt a warm, proud feeling spread throughout his person and he smiled at the ground. The whole team had practically adopted Peter, so he wasn't surprised by his internal response. “Okay buddy, see you tomorrow.”

  
The boy agreed and hung up, leaving Scott to sit back and breathe for a second.

  
Literally only a second, because it was then that Steve woke up.

  
The super-soldier turned child suddenly sat up, looking ready to fight the world. Scott had seen pictures of Steve before the serum, and this kid was nothing like him.

  
He still had the muscle of his adult self, there was no trace of the sick child Steve used to be, which made Scott come to the conclusion somewhere in his mind that they hadn’t gone back to their younger selves, but had simply shrunk.

  
“What-? Where-?” the boy rubbed at his eye and caught sight of Sam beside him, still holding Tony.

  
“Sam..? What happened? Where ….”

  
He suddenly seemed to realize something was different, because he glanced down at himself in horror. Sam, sensing a blow up, quickly tried to reassure the boy.

  
“Steve, it’s okay, you've just shrunk a little but we’re going to find a cure, I promise"

  
Steve looked up at Sam, his mouth open in shock.

  
Then he proceeded to burst into tears.

  
Bucky jolted awake as Scott fell to his knees beside Steve to cuddle him into a hug, fatherly instincts kicking into gear. The winter soldier took one look at a hysterical Steve and burst into tears as well, much to Sam's panic.

  
“I don’t do kids man. I’m so out of my element right now it ain't funny. What do I do?!”

  
“Cuddle him!” Scott hushed Steve as the child curled into him, sobbing pitifully into Scott’s shirt. “Put Tony down for a second, the magic keeping the others under seems to still be holding strong. Give him a hug!”

  
Sam laid Tony back down beside Bruce and shuffled towards Bucky, who quickly scrambled away into a far corner of the jet. Sam approached with his hands up in a peaceful manner but Bucky didn’t even seem to see him, let alone trust him, holding his metal arm up in front of him as if to protect himself. It took several minutes of soothing words from Sam before Bucky even let him close enough to touch, but as soon as he did Sam gathered the boy up in his arms and began to attempt to sooth him.

  
Meanwhile, Steve had calmed down and was no longer sodding. He had yet to let go of Scott and he gave an occasional sniff but otherwise remained quiet and still.

  
“You okay Captain?” Scott breathed.

  
The boy nodded, giving a small sniff. He mumbled something against Scott’s chest and burrowed deeper into him.

  
“Come on Steve, I don't understand mumbling" he gently pushed Steve back enough to look at him.

  
The boy's eyes were red and his cheeks were pink. His hair was a rat's mess and his clothes were too big on him, making him look younger then Scott thought he really was right now.

  
Steve sniffed, “I feel so young… the last time I was this size, I couldn't do anything… I was useless and weak. I hate being this small again ….”  
Scott’s heart ached for their Captain. The man shouldered so much for the team, he was the most selfless person Scott had ever met and it shattered him to see him like this. He pulled the shaking boy closer and hoped they were close to home.

*******

  
**Sam**

  
Bucky had calmed down as well by the time they arrived back at the compound. The two boy’s were curled together in the corner, speaking quietly. Bruce had began to fuss in his sleep, the baby twisting and turning in distress. He was the only one who so much as moved in his sleep, making Sam wonder if it had something to do with the Hulk. Scott had scooped him up and had been pacing the length of the jet, rocking him gently and humming a soft tune. Sam had meanwhile set up guard in between Wanda and Pietro while holding Tony secure in his lap. As they landed, Steve hesitantly spoke up.

  
“Bucky and I can help you carry the others back. I don't think our strength is gone…” the, ‘I hope’ went unsaid, but Sam still heard it.

  
“Thank you Steve. Can you grab Wanda for me?” Sam asked, making sure to give him a soft smile. It was obvious that while this man was their Captain, he was very much a child right now, with child fragility and all. Steve nodded shyly and hurried to his feet.

  
“Bucky? Can you carry Natasha?” Scott asked Bucky, who had yet to move from the corner. The boy startled before quickly getting to his feet to shuffle over to Natasha. Phil came back then, lifting Clint without any hesitation. Sam stood up with Tony and Scott continued to hold Bruce and then they were off.

  
“Should we be leaving them here?” Steve asked nervously, glancing at Wanda, Pietro and Thor.

  
“You, Bucky and I will come back for them. They'll be fine for a few minutes. Phil probably needs to make some calls and Sam can stay with the others inside" Scott reassured him smoothly. Steve hesitated, then nodded in acceptance.

  
Scott was accepting this a lot smother then Sam was damn.

  
When the reached their shared area, or “The Cave" as Tony sometimes referred to it as, they each set their child in their rooms. Sam lined the bed with pillows on all sides and laid Tony in the middle, briefly taking note that there was a lot of little projects scattered on the desk in the corner and the shelf, but not much else.

  
When he exited Tony’s room he found Phil quietly conversing with Scott at the door before slipping out. When Scott turned and locked eyes with Sam, he raised an eyebrow at him.

  
“Phil needs to make some calls. He also needs to do paperwork and try to find a cure. So! We're on babysitting!” Scott spread his hands and gave Sam a tight grin.

  
Sam winced. He wasn’t joking when he said kids were way out of his comfort zone.

  
“You better go get the others…”

  
Scott snorted in agreement and dropped his hands back to his side’s. “Steve!” he called softly, “Bucky!” the boys were on the couch, talking again, but they got to their feet at the call, hurrying to help. Sam was once again a bit surprised how quickly the boys were acting as just that: boys. It made him more curious about the nature of the spell. They knew who they were, had all their memories intact as far as he knew, and still possessed all their abilities they had obtained during adulthood.

  
Curious.

  
As the three left, Sam settled on the couch with his head in his hands.

  
One minute, the team was together, fighting Sam alien lady like usual. The next, they're fucken children. What kind of magic is this? It’s not like Loki's, although he would get a kick out of this for sure. Where did that lady come from? Another planet of the nine realms? Wherever it was, Sam hoped she's gone back home now. Seriously.

  
She even busted his wings! Now he had to let Tony update them. God damn it. Well, when Tony was no longer a baby that is. God baby's. He just can't handle this. He was gonna move to Mexico after this, early retirement. Cap be damned.

  
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but he must have dozed off in his stressed state because the next thing he knew, small hands were gently shaking him awake. He blinked open his eyes to see Bucky hesitantly standing in front of him.

  
“Uh, Scott told me to tell you go to bed now… He’s going to stay up a bit and you're clearly exhausted. So… yeah."

  
Sam was once again struck by the innocence in Bucky’s childish voice, so much higher pitched then his adult one, somehow holding shyness and sweetness in every syllable. How could he even try to argue with that voice?

  
“Okay. Where’s Scott?”

  
“He's in Pietro’s room with the doctor."

  
Sam was suddenly much more awake. God, how could he have forgotten his teammates injures? Seeing something in his expression, Bucky put a hand on his chest. “Scott says everything is fine and to not beat yourself up about it. You're supposed to sleep now!”

  
Sam groaned and gently pushed Bucky away, standing up and heading towards Pietro's room. He heard Bucky say something along the lines of “birdbrains who can’t listen to reason" and follow him.

  
Scott was standing with Steve in the doorway as a shield medical doctor applied a paste to the poor child's back. Scott looked up at him as he and Bucky approached.

  
“I thought I told you to go to bed."

  
“Correction,” he bumped Scott's shoulder playfully, “you sent a message through a child."

  
“I'm not a child!” Bucky hissed. Sam and Scott snickered to each other, but sobered up as the doctor turned to them.

  
“He'll be fine. Put this ointment on him every morning to all burnt areas. He'll be in a lot of pain for a few day's though, so keep the playing to a minimum.”

  
Sam snorted internally. Playing. Right.

  
“Thank you. I'll show you out" Scott offered, leading the man out of the room.

  
Steve and Bucky both approached the bed cautiously, looking at the still form of their friend and teammate.

  
“So… He’s okay?” Steve asked hesitantly.

  
“Yeah cap,” Sam assured, “he'll be okay."

  
Steve nodded, worrying his bottom lip.

  
Sam thought of something then.

  
“JARVIS?” he asked tentatively.

  
“Yes Mr. Wilson?”

  
“Can you tell how old they all are currently?”

  
“I can indeed sir. Captain Rogers is the oldest at about 11 years of age."

  
Steve's head snapped up to the ceiling, mouth open.

  
“Sir Barnes is around age 10."

  
Bucky glared at his feet.

  
“Mr. Odinson is 7. Mr. and Miss. Maximoff are 6. Miss. Romanoff is 5. Mr. Barton is around 3, possibly a bit older. Doctor Banner is just over 2 and Sir is around 17 months old."

  
Sam gave a shaky breath and rubbed a hand over his face. Steve whispered to Bucky, asking if Sam was okay. Scott returned then, shooing the boys to their rooms with little flicks of his hands, both boys whining about how ‘they weren’t real kids’ and about, ‘why wouldn't they take them seriously?’

  
After the two were gone Scott turned back to Sam, brows frowned in worry as they exited Pietro’s room, closing the door quietly behind them.  
“What's wrong?”

  
Sam shook his head, sighing as he told Scott the team's exact ages. Scott looked about as Sam felt to have the words actually said out loud. But Scott straightened up and took a deep breath.

  
“Looks like we've got stuff to buy."

  
“If I may, Sir" JARVIS interrupted, “I have already taken the liberty of purchasing a wide range of clothing for all team members, as well as diapers, wipes, a changing table, cribs, rash cream and baby powder for Sir and Doctor Banner. I have also purchased pull ups, and toys for all ages"  
Scott blinked, sharing a surprised look with Sam.

  
“Uh, wow. Thank you JARVIS, way ahead of us, as usual”

  
“Its my pleasure sir. Everything will be ready for pick up at the front desk tomorrow morning”

  
Scott turned to Sam, “right, since that's taken care of, go get some sleep! You're no use to me as a zombie you know."

  
Sam snickered, “No use to you huh? Since when are you in charge?”

  
“Since Phil’s not here and you're clueless when it comes to kids" Scott snorted, bumping his shoulder.

  
Sam laughed, shoving him away. “Okay, okay. Wake me if anything happens?”

  
Scott's smile softened, understanding, “I promise."

*******

  
**Scott**

  
The next morning was havoc. Scott had woken Sam at around 3 to stay up with Steve and Bucky, who had each slept around two hours, not needing much sleep because of their metabolisms. The boy’s were playing chess when Sam stumbled into the living room, grumbling about early risers. The boy’s giggled at him and went back to their game.

  
When JARVIS announced around 6 that the packages were here, Steve and Bucky insisted on coming to help get them all. Even with the help, it still took four trips.

  
“You know JARVIS, if this is super temporary, you kinda wasted a lot of money" Sam hummed as he examined the mountain of boxes lining the sitting room.

  
“Nothing is wasted on any of you, I assure you Mr. Wilson."

  
If Sam got teared up a bit at that statement, well, no one but him needed to know. And it was only a little bit, a manly amount.

  
It was around 8 when the last of the magic keeping the kids under wore off. Steve and Bucky were playing cards now, and Sam was drinking coffee while reading his book on mythology. The high pitched scream priced through the room and they were all moving instantly. Sam caught sight of Scott scrambling towards Wanda's room while Sam burst Natasha's door open, only to find her half sitting up, rubbing her eyes and looking around confused.

  
Realizing she hadn't been the one who screamed, Sam took off towards Wanda's room, only to be cut off by a tiny Clint running out of his room.  
He had a wild look in his eye as he caught sight of Sam and screamed “I'M TINY."

  
Sam put a hand to his chest as he tried to calm his beating heart. Meanwhile Steve keeled down in front of Clint to begin calming him down softly.

  
Unfortunately, Clint's scream had woken everyone up, causing similar reactions. Wanda and Pietro ran from their room screaming for each other and now clung to each other, sobbing loudly and not letting anyone near them, though Bucky kept trying. Tony and Bruce, being the baby's, had both wet the bed and been horrified by it, causing a lot of screaming/sobbing. They were now being carried around and rocked by Scott and Sam. But the others distress kept setting them off every time they got close to settling. Thor had threw a tantrum for about two minutes until his hammer flew through the window and into his hand. Since then he had been calmly watching T.V as everyone else freaked out.

  
Natasha had instantly hidden under the couch and screamed at anyone to tried to get her out. Clint similarly had escaped Steve's clutches and was perched on top of the fridge, throwing random shit at anyone to got too close.

  
Sam had the worst headache.

  
“Alright that’s it" Scott huffed after about an hour or the madness. He marched over to Sam and flung Tony into his arms, much to the baby's displeasure. The man then stood on one of the loveseats, beside Thor, and screamed “HEY."

  
Instantly everyone turned to look at him, even Natasha poked her head out.

  
“That is enough! You're Avengers! You all need to calm, down. Because this is bullshit."

  
Silence met his words. The kids all stared at him, the occasional sniffle interrupting the silence. It was Clint who spoke first.

  
“Are we stuck like this?”

  
The boy looked to miserable, Sam felt his heart clench.

  
“We don't know Clint. But until we do, we're going to act as if you are. You are going to listen to rules for your own safety, you're going to ask Sam and I for help if needed, you're going to behave yourselves, and you're going to try to enjoy this."

  
Sam frowned. They hadn’t discussed this conversation beforehand, so he had no idea where Scott was going with this.

  
“Enjoy it?” Wanda squeaked, “how, would we enjoy this? And why?”

  
“Because we're the Avengers and we should be able to deal with anything thrown at us. So, everyone gather on the couches. Now."

  
Without another word, the kids scrambled to sit on the couches. Scott took Bruce from Sam and sat in the middle of the big couch. Natasha and Wanda sat on either side of him, with Pietro beside his sister and Thor beside Natasha. Clint climbed beside Sam and Tony while Steve and Bucky settled on the other loveseat.

  
Sam was impressed.

  
“Now. Does everyone know what happened?”

  
Everyone nodded, even the baby's.

  
“Good. Phil is out looking for a cure, so for now, we stay in here."

  
“What's all that?” Thor asked, pointing to the boxes, clearly uninterested in the conversation.

  
“Supplies" Sam answered. Tony looked up at him, big brown eyes full of fear and confusion. The other kids looked at him too, and Sam suddenly realized they had their work cut out for them.

  
“If I may Sirs, now might be a good time to get Sir and Doctor Banner into something more suitable? And the rest of the team to change out of their battle clothes?”

  
Sam looked around at the kids all swimming in adult clothing covered in dirt and in some cases, blood, and mumbled agreement. He sat Tony on the couch and made his way over to the box he knew held clothes from his earlier snooping.

  
“Thor" he called, and the demi-god came without question, taking the handful of clothes Sam passed him with a small thank you before rushing off.

  
“Clint."

  
The boy bounded up to him, eyes wide and curious, but body a bit cautious. He took the clothes without a word and ran away.

  
“Natasha."

  
The small girl practically crawled towards him, hesitation in every step. She snatched the clothes and bolted.

  
One by one the kids took the clothes and went to change until it was just the baby’s left.

  
“Here,” Sam tossed a diaper and a onesie to Scott, “put that on Bruce."

  
Scott nodded and laid the boy down on the couch. Sam meanwhile approached Tony, who had figured out what was about to happen and was trying to crawl away.

  
“No! No! No di-pur!”

  
Sam sighed, grabbing the baby and laying him on the carpet.

  
“Sorry Tony, you already wet the bed, you need these until you're big again."

  
Tony whimpered and was fighting Sam the whole time he was putting him in his diaper and onesie. It was blue and fuzzy with “troublemaker!” written across it. Sam cooed at him, but Tony was too angry to listen, so he gave up.

  
Bruce’s onesie was green with “cutie  <3" on it, also fuzzy. They both were so adorable.

  
Clint came running out then in his purple shirt with a Minecraft skeleton on it and black jogging pants. His socks were different colours, but Sam let it pass. It was cute.

  
One by one the kids returned, freshly dressed and looking calmer. All the kids were in outfits that fit their personalities and likes beautifully, making Sam realize just how much attention JARVIS gave them.

  
“Now what?” Pietro asked. He was in a light-blue-plain T-shirt with dark-blue leggings. His hair was a mess of blond curls and Sam felt the urge to comb it down.

  
“Now we put on a movie and you guys will sit here quietly while Sam and I make breakfast and call Phil" Scott told them firmly. “JARVIS? Can you put the jungle book on please?”

  
“Of course Sir"

  
“Come on," Scott nudged Sam on his way to the kitchen as the movie started, “I think comfort food can go a long way."

  
Sam agreed and set Tony down beside Steve. “Watch him please?”

  
Steve nodded, putting an arm around the fussy baby.

  
In the kitchen, Scott was getting eggs out if the fridge.

  
“Can you crack these three dozen eggs and whisk them in a bowl for me? I'm going to do some breakfast sausages and bacon."

  
“Yeah, sure."

  
The team only ever really ate meals together once a week on movie night and the next morning. Sometimes Steve dragged them all here for Sunday breakfast, but they normally did their own meals because of everyone’s crazy schedules. Sam was pleasantly surprised by how much food was down here and got to work on whisking the eggs.

  
Both men kept an ear open for any signs of distress coming from the sitting room, even though JARVIS would tell them if anything happened. They were surprised it took until the end of the movie before anything happened. The sounds of a fight breaking out reached Sam’s ears as he dumped the second batch of eggs into a frying pan.

  
“You go, I've got this" Scott said.

  
“What part of, ‘kids are not my thing,’ don't you understand?” Sam asked as he handed the spoon over.

  
“The ‘not’ part, clearly" Scott snarked back with a smirk. Sam sighed before entering the sitting room.

  
Clint was standing on the coffee table and screeching at Pietro, who was standing on one of the love seats and silently fuming as the younger child screamed at him. Steve and Bucky had a baby each and were sort of attempting to calm them down, but Bucky looked like he couldn't care less. Natasha had returned to her spot under the couch with her hands over her ears, Wanda was attempting to get her out. Thor, once again, wasn't even pretending to care and was watching with a hint of amusement.

  
“Alright! Break it up!” Sam walked over and plucked Clint off the table, much to the three year olds anger.

  
“What happened?” Sam asked Steve.

  
The Captain was rocking Tony to keep him from crying behind the coffee table. He bit his lip, “Pietro started blaming people for us being turned into kids. He said if Natasha and Clint had real powers we might have stood more of a chance. Then Natasha got upset and hid under the couch and that made Clint really mad."

  
Sam sighed, sitting on the ground beside Pietro and pulling the kid onto his lap.

  
“Come here. All of you."

  
It took a few minutes before Natasha joined them, but once they were all there, he began to speak.

  
“Look guys. First of all, this is no ones fault but that green lady. You all fought your hardest and lost. It happens, but no one here is to blame. Second of all, I don't know exactly what this spell did, but it’s becoming very clear that you're all acting more like children. Natasha, as an adult you would never have hid like that."

  
The young girl's lip started to wobble and she nodded. “Everything is so much more intense… my emotions keep controlling me… like before the red room."

  
Clint, who was beside her, gave her a big hug.

  
“Its true" Wanda spoke up. “I'm still me, like, I have all my memories of growing up and my powers are as strong as ever, but little things, kiddy things, set me off that I would be fine with as an adult.”

  
The others nodded in agreement, all sniffing sadly.

  
“I think this is marvelous!” Thor suddenly boomed.

  
The team collectively all turned to look at him in shock, horror, and surprise.

  
“Why Thor? What's so awesome about this?” Bucky demanded.

  
“All mighty warriors deserve some time off,” Thor began, twirling his hammer in thought, “We, as shield brothers and Avengers, have had no such time off. We are called to raise to battle so often I have forgotten what a day off is like. Some weeks, we must even miss our annual movie night, which sets us up for another week of stress without an outlet. We should see this as an opportunity friends, to relax and enjoy ourselves. Friend Wanda, you asked earlier how you could enjoy yourself. Well, children are beacons of love, light, hope and joy. We shall play games, goof off, and be children again without the threat of foes to Vanquish. Let the other hero’s of midgard to have a turn to save innocents, and treasure this gift while it’s here."

  
Silence met the demi-gods words as the Avengers turned that over. It was Bruce that spoke up a few minutes later, saying his first words since waking with a low tremble.

  
“But-t I can't scienc-ce l-like this"

  
Tony gave a small gasp and his lip began to tremble as well. Sam, foreseeing a meltdown , took Bruce from Bucky. Pietro stubbornly refused to move from his lap, so it was a bit awkward, but then everyone was suddenly pressing forward to get comfort from Sam and before he knew it, they were a big cuddle pile with Sam in the center.

  
“I know it’s going to suck,” Sam whispered over the sniffles of distress, “but we're going to make this work, I promise.”

*******

  
**Steve**

  
After breakfast, Scott and Sam encouraged the kids to play with the Toys JARVIS had ordered them while they went off to build cribs and change tables. They set Steve and Bucky in charge before disappearing down the hall.

  
Steve didn't know what to think.

  
Currently, he was rocking a sleepy Tony on one of the loveseats while Bucky chased Clint around the room. The Avengers had relaxed a lot more after putting food in their bellies and were beginning to accept that they might be like this for a while. Some of them, such as Thor, Clint, Pietro and Bruce, had accepted it a lot faster then the others and were goofing off with the Toys they had found. Bruce was still on the plastic mat that Scott had changed his diaper on after breakfast and was chewing on a rattle while babbling about something or other. Thor and Pietro were playing dinosaurs with the little figures they discovered, Thor being fascinated the whole time. And Clint, well, he had stripped down to his underwear, which was why Bucky was chasing after the giggling child with his clothes.

  
Natasha and Wanda however, were still in denial. Steve found this interesting as Natasha had mentality aged down faster then any of them, but was being the most stubborn about it. The girls were on the other loveseat complaining to each other about the unfairness of it all.

  
“I give up!” Bucky plopped down beside Steve, jolting Tony awake. “That little bugger can catch a cold for all I care.” He tossed Clint’s clothes onto the coffee table with a huff. Bucky wasn't handling his de-ageing well, but he was probably handling it better then Steve at least. The two had had long conversations about it last night, so they both had come to terms with this before the others had even woken up.

  
They still weren’t happy about it though.

  
“’ucky?” Tony whispered, reaching out to the soldier. Bucky groaned and plucked Tony from Steve’s arms. Tony happily snuggled into the 10-year-olds warmth.

  
“You're good with him" Steve commented, catching Clint with one arm as he ran by, earning him a squeak.

  
“Its not hard,” Bucky mumbled, embarrassed. Bucky handled the baby’s better than the others, much to Steve’s amusement. The soldier shuffled around to allow Tony to be more comfortable though, making Steve smile.

  
“Let me go!” Clint screeched, struggling as Steve lifted him effortlessly onto his lap.

  
“Nope. You need to put your clothes back on."

  
“I'll just take them back off again" Clint snarked.

  
“Then I'll just wrestle you back into them again"

  
Clint scowled, but only put up a minimal amount of fight as Steve helped him redress.

  
“Can I go now?” Clint whined, kicking his legs.

  
“Yes, you're free" Steve replied, setting the boy back on his feet and watching him bolt over to Pietro and Thor.

  
“You're good with the older kids" Bucky commented. Tony was dead to the world in his arms, a drop of drool rolling down his chin.

  
Steve shrugged, “I guess."

  
Tiny hands suddenly tugged on his pant leg, making him startle a little.

  
“St've? U-uppy?” Bruce was reaching up to him with pout, looking adorable enough to melt even the coldest heart.

  
“Sure buddy, come here. You must be getting tired too."

  
Bruce nodded, yawning as Steve lifted him onto his lap.

  
It was then that someone knocked on the door.

  
Everyone froze. They all looked at Steve with mixtures of fear and horror, more then one lip began to tremble.

  
“Nobody panic. I'll go see who it is" Steve assured, getting up and taking Bruce with him as the toddler was clinching Steve like he was his life line.

  
He thought about going and getting Sam or Scott as he got closer to the door, but then Peter's voice called through the wood.

  
“Guys? It’s just me, Peter."

  
Letting out a sigh of relief, Steve opened the door to see Peter’s shocked face as he caught sight of him.

  
“Cap? Oh my god ….”

  
“Come in Peter” Steve invited, looking behind the teen anxiously. It was just a hallway that led to an elevator that took them back up to the main compound, but Steve worried.

  
Once they were inside, Peter started rambling.

  
“Oh my gosh you’re so little! Or not little, you’re about my height now but you used to be a giant compared to me! And is that Bruce hiding there? Oh my goodness it is. Hi Bruce! It’s me, Peter Parker! Hey does he still Hulk out if someone scares him? But like, a mini Hulk? That would kind of cute actually-"

  
“Peter."

  
“Have you guys found a cure yet? Oh my gosh is there even a cure at all? Are they stuck like this? That’s way too much responsibility on me-"

  
“Peter."

  
“If half the team is down we are so screwed-"

  
“Peter!”

  
The 18-year-old shut his mouth with a snap, making Bruce giggle.

  
“Why don't you go talk to Sam and Scott? They're turning Tony's room into a nursery."

  
Peter blinked in surprise, “Oh! Okay, good idea" then took off.

  
Steve could feel a headache coming on, and he didn't get headaches.

  
Returning to the living room, Bucky must have told them all it was only Peter because they had all resumed playing. Or, not playing in Wanda and Natasha's case. Bucky had set Tony down in the play pen the two pre-teens had set up earlier, letting the baby sleep while Bucky played cars with Clint, who had apparently decided dinosaurs were boring.

  
“Everything okay?” Bucky asked, setting the red car down he was holding.

  
Steve just nodded, laying down on the couch with Bruce on his chest. The toddler babbled a string of noises for several minutes before drifting off to sleep to the steady beat of Steve’s heart.

  
Once Bruce was curled up beside Tony, Steve went to check in with the adults, leaving Bucky with the kids. Sam and Scott were filling Peter in while working on a while crib, an identical brown one already put up on the other side of the room. Tony’s bed had been moved into Pietro’s room, probably in case Wanda decided she wanted to be with her brother.

  
“-move them somewhere else. Phil says Doctor Stephen Strange can’t even come look at them until sometime next month, so we need to make long term arrangements. I don't think it’s going to wear off anytime soon."

  
Wait what?

  
Sam was nodding at everything Scott just said while looking up at Peter from his spot on the ground, worried.

  
“Phil also got the X-man and the fantastic four ready if any new villains appear while we're gone."

  
“What do you mean, ‘gone’?” Steve demanded. The three turned to look at him standing with his mouth open in the doorway.

  
“He means,” Scott soothed, “That we can't stay here. Sure it’s safe for a little while, but this place is attacked all the time as villains learn of its hiding place. You guys don’t stand a chance as kids."

  
“So we're running away?” Steve snapped.

  
“No, we're going on vacation” Sam corrected, tightening a bolt in place.

  
“Where are you going?” Peter asked nervously.

  
“We don’t know yet. Phil is looking for some place safe."

  
“Why did you build the cribs then if we're leaving?” Steve demanded.

  
“We'll stay here at least a week while we get everyone settled into their new skin and Phil finds us a place to lay low" Sam explained, finishing up the one side and moving to the other.

  
Steve huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew he was acting childish, but he had an excuse not so screw it. They were turned into children yesterday, they were moving too fast.

  
“Steve, buddy, why don’t you go put on a movie?” Scott suggested kindly. Realizing he was being dismissed, Steve turned around and marched away, totally not pouting.

*******

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Peter decided to stay the week to help watch them all until Phil returned, much to Tony's happiness. The youngest Avenger had been fussy since waking up that morning, outright bawling at having to get his diaper changed. But once he woke up from his nap and found out Peter was here, he had been babbling in baby talk as much as Bruce and clinging to the teen.

  
Lunch and dinner were uneventful as a whole, bringing to attention that Tony and Bruce needed to be fed or food got everywhere. They also thanked JARVIS for planning ahead and gotten sippy cups and plastic utensils, because Natasha, Clint, Wanda and Pietro actually had trouble using adult stuff. The twins refused sippy cups, but would uses plastic cups without too much fuss. Natasha, after dropping three cups, wasn't given the option and was forced to use sippy cups like Clint, much to her anger.

  
The baby’s were given bottles and baby food, each of the men taking a baby to feed while Peter helped Clint, whenever the boy allowed it anyway.  
After dinner they all piled into the sitting room for comforting cuddles and a movie. Rhodey, who had missed Sam’s call the night before, video called half way through ‘The Lion King'.

  
He was visually shocked to find a bunch of little faces blinking up at him through the screen and outright gasped as he caught sight of a sleeping Tony in Peter’s arms.

  
“Okay. Start talking."

  
Scott and Sam quickly filled him in, the kids staying relatively quiet the majority of the time. Clint leaped up as soon as the explanations were done to show Rhodey his shirt.

  
“Look James look! He's got a bow like mine!”

  
Sam and Scott winched, they hadn’t told the boy that is bow was snapped yet.

  
“Wow Clint, that's uh…” Rhodey cleared his throat, “how long did you say this will last again?”

  
“We don't know" Scott bit his lip, “We have someone coming to look at them some time next month."

  
“Next MONTH?”

  
The kids flinched away from the image and Rhodey took a deep breath when he noticed.

  
“Okay. Anything I can do to help?”

  
“Not if you're busy. Don't worry Rhodes, we can handle this" Sam told him.

  
Rhodey sighed, nodded, told them to give him a call if anything happened, then hung up.

  
“I don't think he liked my shirt” Clint said, looking downcast.

*******

  
**Tony**

  
Wednesday morning, two days after the Avengers were kiddy sized and five days since their last movie night, Tony woke up screaming.

  
Nightmares were the norm in his life of course. When he was younger they were about Howard coming into his room in the dead of night, stumbling and reeking of alcohol. Later it was of the cave, drowning in those buckets and watching his friend die. Then it was Obie, standing over him holding the reactor he had ripped from his chest, watching the betrayal in Tony’s eyes. The wormhole was the worst, the one that still haunted his dreams both awake and in sleep. But none of these dreams were what he had just awoken from.

  
No, it had to be something completely stupid. Something so incredibly childish he just knew he would never live it down when he grew back up. Something so embarrassing he never wanted anyone to know what it had been.

  
He had dreamt that the team had been cuddling him and singing to him, loving him.

  
Then they dropped him on the couch and left, abandoning the crying baby.

  
How pathetic. So why was he still crying? Oh, he wet his stupid diaper again. Trying not to be a baby was harder then it looked when you were, in fact, a baby.

  
Stupid logic.

  
It was then that his crying was interrupted by Sam stumbling into the room rubbing one eye. He gave a loud yawn, stretching his hands over his head before approaching Tony's crib.

  
Yeah, crib. Don't even get him started on how mad he is about that.

  
“What's wrong Tony?” Sam soothed, reaching for him, “did you have a nightmare?”

  
He tried to roll away, but he got tangled in his blankets. Frustrated, he cried louder.

  
“Hey, hey shhh you're okay" Sam continued in his annoyingly soothing voice as he gently untangled him and lifted him into his arms.

  
Tony recalled then, a time when he didn’t really like Sam. He was on Steve’s side over the whole accords incident, and that was enough for Tony to dislike him. But even before that, something about the man had always bothered Tony. But Rhodey had clicked with the man very quickly, and he knew Sam felt awful about Rhodey’s incident. If he didn’t know Rhodey was 100% straight, he would have thought they had something between them. So, because of Rhodey, Tony had began to trust the man, even call him a friend.

  
But this was taking it a bit too far.

  
“Tony you're going to wake up Bruce” Sam hushed, bouncing him gently.

  
That made Tony take a big gulp of air in, trying to calm down. The only good thing about this whole thing was that at least his boyfriend was roughly the same age, it would have been super weird if one of them was crazy older.

  
Boy he did not envy Coulson right now.

  
“Lets get your bum changed then go see Phil" Sam whispered to Tony’s hair. His breath tickled, and Tony moved his head away in annoyance.  
He deliberately covered his face with his hands as Sam changed him. God this was so embarrassing, he was so going to kill that green skinned son of a bitch.

  
By the time Sam was done Tony was crying again, softly this time, embarrassed and upset. Sam visibly melted at the sight of his pouty lip and big doe eyes.

  
It was nice to know he still had it, even at this age.

  
“I'm sorry Tony, I can’t imagine how horrible this is for you. But Bruce doesn't mind it, maybe you'll get more used to it" Sam said as he put Tony in another onesie. Tony wanted to snort, but it wasn't physically possible at this age, so he sighed instead. Bruce wasn’t as okay with this as everyone thought, he just knew Tony was having difficulties with it so he was trying to make it easier on him.

  
He knew his boyfriend, there was no way he was enjoying this.

  
And sure, Tony had began to cheer up yesterday after Peter showed up, but can you blame him? Peter was awesome! No matter what age. Tony was still fighting with Bruce about trying to adopt the boy, but if he stays in this form, it might have to be the other way around.

  
Sam lifted him off the change table after fastening the last button and carried him into the sitting room. To Tony’s surprise, Clint and Phil were lying on the couch together, Clint with his thumb in his mouth and his ear on Phil's chest, listening to his heart beat. Everyone knew it was Clint’s way of assuring himself that Phil was alive and here.

  
Did Sam mention Phil was back? He couldn't remember. Oh well, maybe he has news?

  
“Phil!” he called, stretching his hand out towards the agent. He looked up at Tony's greeting and sent him a smile.

  
“Hello Stark. You holding up okay?”

  
Ha! No.  
“Change back?” Tony asked instead of answering.

  
Phil’s smile became more strained, “I'm looking everywhere I can. We'll change you back."

  
So, in other words, they were stuck like this for who the hell knows how long. He felt his eyes well up with tears again and he angrily hid his face in Sam's neck as the man settled down on the couch.

  
“Sorry" He heard Phil say.

  
“Not your fault. You know Tony, he's not taking this well. Whether or not he's taking it worse then Natasha has yet to be determined”

  
“Makes sense they would take it the worst. Poor Natasha, being that age again must be traumatic, Tony too if his father’s file is any indication"

  
Tony determinedly did not flinch at the mention of his father, but he did stiffen and Sam rubbed his back soothingly. He burrowed deeper into the man’s neck.

  
“Wanda is taking it pretty bad too, I don’t know the story for that one though.”

  
“Can't help you there," Phil sighed, sounding like he was rubbing his face, “you know as much as I do."

  
“P’il?”

  
“Yes Clint?”

  
“W’at's gonna ha’en to… to us… if I s’ay like t’is?”

  
Tony lifted his head to look over at Clint, thumb still in his mouth and sitting up now, eyes worried and his other hand pulling his shirt. Phil looked conflicted, sharing down at this little boy who was his boyfriend when he was older and having no idea what to do or say.

  
“Clint…” Phil ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable. “I don't know honey. I just don't. But you know what?”

  
Clint's eyes were shining with unshed tears as he whispered, “W’at?”

  
“No matter what happens, no matter if I have to be a father figure or I get to be your boyfriend again, I will always love you with everything I'm able" Phil promised.

  
Clint’s lip trembled and he let out a sob, falling forward back onto Phil’s chest and hugging him tightly as he cried into his shirt. Tony felt like they shouldn't be here, watching this, and clearly Sam did too because he got up and carried Tony back to his room, Clint’s cries following them.

  
“Try to go back to sleep okay? You know it’s 2am right?” Sam whispered as he set him back in his crib. Tony shrugged, that wasn’t anything new for him. Sam seemed to take that as an affirmative because he tucked him in, turned off the light, and left, leaving Tony to wonder what to do now.

*******

  
**Bruce**

  
Bruce was woken up by a stuffy hitting his face and a little voice calling “Brucey! Brucey!”

  
Still half asleep, Bruce sat up in his crib, rubbing at one eye. He had been having a lovely dream about a meadow full of butterflies and Tony and him were chasing them, giggling the whole time. Like Tony, Bruce knew nightmares, they were old friends. Sometimes he saw his father, beating him or killing his mother. Other times he saw the accident that created the other guy, or Ross ordering for him to be killed. Lately, its been Tony dying by his hands.

  
Needless to say, the change had been very welcoming, if childish.

  
Across the room, only illuminated from the blue night light in the corner, Tony stood in his crib, hands on the bars, face squished flat against it.  
“’o-ony?” Bruce yawned, hugging the stuffed Iron man he had fallen asleep with , “w'ats wong?”

  
“Bored" his boyfriend whined.

  
Bruce frowned, then crawled closer to his own bars and used them to pull himself to his feet.

  
“W-what t-time is it?” Bruce whispered.

  
“Sam sa’d 2" Tony said, holding up two fingers.

  
“That’s w-w-weally early" Bruce whined, getting ready to curl back up.

  
“No! B'uce wait!” Tony cried.

  
Bruce looked back over to him, worried now.

  
“Y-you ok’y?”

  
Tony hesitated, thumb making its way to his mouth without his knowledge. Bruce felt another flash of worry go through him.

  
“I'm scared" he whispered.

  
Bruce felt his lip wobble in sympathy. Poor Tony! He looked up at the top of his crib. If he stood on his tip toes, he could get his arm over it. Being this size really sucked.

  
Making a decision, Bruce stood on tippy toes and flung both arms over the top of his crib. Then he pulled himself up, using his feet on the bars to help him climb. Only after he got halfway over did he realize how much that fall would hurt, so he fell back down into his crib again.

  
“Bruce? W'at you ‘oing?” Tony asked. Bruce ignored him, too focused.

  
He took his pillow and held it over the edge, letting it fall right beside the crib. This time when he climbed over, he landed on the pillow. Genius!  
Free, Bruce hobbled over to Tony's crib, who was starring at him in awe.

  
“H-help me u-up" Bruce said, bringing Tony back to focus.

  
“There's a ‘hair o'er there" Tony whispered, pointing to the desk. Bruce nodded and wobbled over to it and pushed it beside Tony’s crib, climbing onto it. Then he pulled himself into the crib, landing beside Tony.

  
“H-hi" he said. Tony giggled.

  
“Hi"

  
“Can we s-sleep now?” Bruce asked, grabbing Tony and cuddling him.

  
“Ok'y” Tony whispered, relaxing completely.

*******

  
**Pietro**

  
“Are they allowed to do that?” Wanda whispered to Pietro softly. The twins were on their way to breakfast and had been checking everyone’s rooms to see who was awake, when they passed Tony and Bruce's room to find them curled up together in Tony’s crib, fast asleep.

  
Pietro shrugged, “probably not."

  
“Should we wake them?”

  
“Do you want cranky baby’s?”

  
Wanda shook her head.

  
“Then no. Let’s leave them. Race you to the kitchen!” Pietro smirked, before he took off, stopping beside Scott, who jumped and spilt orange juice all down his front.

  
“Oops. Sorry Scott" Pietro apologized, grabbing him a towel.

  
“Its fine. No running in the house Pietro. Especially speed running" Scott scowled good-naturedly. Wanda ran into he kitchen then, huffing and puffing.

  
“That’s never fair" Wanda complained.

  
“Having a sister with a face like yours is never fair."

  
“Aw, come on that was uncalled for" Wanda crossed her arms over her chest.

  
“Your face is uncalled for."

  
“That's enough you two" Scott intervened. He was over by the sink now, using a wet cloth to dab his shirt.

  
Wanda’s eyes were shinning with a mischievous light that made Pietro nervous. With good reason, because the next second her hands were glowing red and he was floating two feet off the ground.

  
“Wanda! Put him down" Scott snapped, dropping the cloth.

  
Wanda smirked, “Okay."

  
“Don't you dare-GOD DAMN IT" He screeched as Wanda dropped him in the filled sink.

  
Giggling, Wanda ran out of the kitchen, Pietro leaping out of the sink and running after her, Scott screeching at them the whole way. Pietro was socked from the waist down and he knew he was leaving a trail of water behind him, but he didn’t care.

  
Running at normal human speed, he chased his sister into the sitting room, startling Clint and Natasha on one of the love seats and Steve and Bucky on the floor playing cards, Bucky actually dropping his hand when he jumped.

  
Putting on a tiny burst of speed, Pietro tackled Wanda onto the couch, his sister giggling the whole time. He felt his own mouth curve up as they wrestled, knowing he was getting her purple PJ's all wet. Served her right.

  
“What’s going on?” He heard Sam's voice say. While he was momentarily distracted, Wanda flipped them over, knocking them both to the ground, her sitting on his chest.

  
“Ha!” she cheered, “I win."

  
“Get off. You weigh a ton" he huffed, pushing her off and sitting up, smile still wide and Wanda still giggling.

  
“Why are you all wet?” Clint asked, head tilted.

  
“Wanda dropped me in the sink."

  
“You called me ugly!”

  
“Did not."

  
“Did too!”

  
“Did not!”

  
“Did too!”

  
“Did-!”

  
“Alright! Okay! Hush now!” Sam cut Pietro off, rubbing his temple. “You both need to go get changed, your soaking the carpet. The couch is already drenched."

  
The twins both gave the leather couch a look over before looking at each other, guilty.

  
“Sorry Sam" they said together, giving the adult puppy eyes and pouty lips.

  
Sam groaned, opening his mouth to tell them off again when the sound of Tony crying came from down the hall. Sam gave them a hard look before turning around to go sooth him.

  
“We should get changed" Wanda said, pulling her shirt out in front of her so she could see it. Pietro realized how uncomfortable he was sitting in his wet pants and agreed.

  
The two made their way back to their separate rooms to get dressed for the day. Pietro liked his room down here, it was very spacious and his bed was very comfortable. His clothes for his current age were in a nice neat pile on his dresser, that’s where Sam had put them yesterday.

Picking through them, his eyes lit up when he saw The Flash t-shirt at the bottom. He quickly took his wet green PJ top off and pulled the new shirt over his head. He found some red jogging pants to match and pulled them on to, tossing his wet clothes somewhere near the laundry bin. Fully dressed, he stood in front of his full length mirror and gave himself a once over.

  
His blonde hair was a mess, one side of it was pushed up like a cow had licked it. His face was definitely one of a six year old, not his once handsome adult face. He was short now too, almost a whole three feet smaller. He even had dimples on both cheeks.

  
He was adorable, there was no other way to say it.

  
Satisfied, he went looking for Wanda.

  
She was still in her room, fully dressed now and sitting on her bed, looking sad.

  
“What’s wrong?” He asked, entering and sitting beside her.

  
His sister shrugged, picking at the little pink butterfly on her blue pants. JARVIS clearly agreed with Sam and Scott that they should enjoy this and see it as a vacation, because all their clothes were very childish.

  
“Natasha doesn’t like being a kid again,” Wanda began, “I mean, I understand why, but it’s been fun so far, hasn't it?”

  
“Yeah, I think so. It’s only been a day and a bit though” Pietro reminded her, not seeing where this was going.

  
“Yeah but… all my worries seem smaller now. Like, the green lady, I feel safe here with Sam and Scott, as if they are protecting us. Phil too, out there looking for a way to fix this.”

  
“That makes sense. I mean, we are kids again, we're kids with kid sized brains, with adult memories. I assume all our memories have been shrunk too, so now we are looking at them through a child's lends."

  
“Right! But Natasha is still super stubborn about this, even when everyone else is warming up to the idea of having a time to relax and have fun, she's still stubbornly trying to stay in an adult headspace. I'm worried for her, so yesterday I pretended to be upset about it too. I don't want her to feel alone."

  
Pietro’s heart ached for his beautiful-selfless sister. “Is that why your sad? You had fun earlier and now you feel bad?”

  
Wanda nodded, sniffing sadly. Pietro put and arm around her and gave her a hug.

  
“Natasha will come around. She's had a rough life, but she's strong. She'll get through this."

  
Wanda just nodded against his shoulder.

*******

  
**Bucky**

  
Bucky hated this.

  
This was stupid. He pushed his oatmeal around his bowl as he stubbornly refused to look at anyone, even Steve.

  
Tony was sitting to his right on Peter’s lap, who was attempting to do homework and feed a hungry baby at the same time. Clint was on his other side, who was making a huge mess because whenever Sam or Scott wasn't looking he launched a spoonful of oatmeal into the garbage across the room. While Clint still had perfect shot, oatmeal didn't stay together very well when air born. Thor across from Clint, had bits of their breakfast in his hair because of him, but either he didn't notice or he didn't care. Across from Bucky sat Steve, who kept trying to catch his eye, but he refused.

  
“So, Phil dropped by last night" Scott began, putting his spoon down he had been feeding Bruce with. Everyone stopped eating to give Scott their full attention, even Bucky looked up for the first time since they all sat down.

  
“Has he found cure?” Natasha demanded, oatmeal untouched in front of her.

  
“Or a spell to reverse it?” Steve corrected.

  
“Unfortunately, no" Scott sighed.

  
Everyone visibly deflated. More then one eye teared up and Scott quickly continued.

  
“But! He's looking for a place for us all to go to lay low until a guy named Stephen Strange can come visit. He wanted me to ask you guys if you knew of anywhere away from the press."

  
“Malibu!”

  
Everyone turned to look at Tony. The baby had a handful of oatmeal and a dinosaur shape in his hair, as well as oats all over his face. Why dinosaur oatmeal was even in the compound was beyond Bucky, but Tony seemed to like it.

  
“Malibu?” Sam asked, confused. Bruce seemed to understand though, because he started to bounce in Scott’s lap.

  
“M-malibu! Tony h-has a h-h-house there!” Bruce cried, looking excited.

  
“No, that’s dumb" Natasha huffed, “after your stunt with the Mandarin, the press will be watching us there."

  
Tony pouted, settling back against Peter’s chest. Bruce glared at Natasha.

  
“Friend Tony is on the right track!” Thor boomed suddenly, flinging his spoon up in excitement and showing Pietro and Wanda with oatmeal. “Did he not boast about all his houses around midgard? There must be one we can obtain.”

  
“Good idea Thor" Scott praised, the demigod puffed out his chest. “Tony, is there another house of yours the press doesn't know about that we could use?”

  
Tony frowned, thinking. After a few minutes of everyone watching him his eyes widened.

  
“Ca-nada!” he cheered.

  
“No way" Clint shook his head, “I am not going to Canada."

  
“Where in Canada Tony?” Scott asked.

  
“O-ontario, Musk-koka" Bruce jumped in, “It’s a f-farm house."

  
“How do you know?” Pietro asked, food already gone and playing with his napkin.

  
Bruce blushed, pulling on his shirt. Tony too wouldn't meet anyone’s eyes, suddenly finding his oatmeal very interesting.

  
“W-we go there… s’me times…” Bruce said, “Its m-made of logs and has e-enough rooms for evwey one to sleep in, and it’s n-not too faw away fwom the town ….”

  
“That sounds perfect" Sam jumped in, “No one would expect us to be in Canada, never mind a small town. Give the kids some fake names and everything will be golden" he said to Scott.

  
“Fake names?!” Wanda shrieked, dropping her spoon “Why do we need fake names?!”

  
The adults looked at each other, Bucky thought they looked nervous.

  
“We'll talk about that later. Mostly? Its just so you guys can go out in public with us" Sam soothed them.

  
“Is anyone listening to me?” Clint snapped, “I'm not going to Canada! It’s cold there, and there’s bears, and, and-” he burst into tears.

  
That was the trigger for Tony and Bruce to start crying too, Wanda and Natasha quickly following. Bucky sighed as he pulled Clint into a hug since he was closest, letting the 3 ½ year old wail into his chest.

  
“Not the reaction I was hoping for" Sam sighed, pulling Wanda into his lap. Steve was trying to sooth Natasha, but the five year old wouldn't let him touch her.

  
“You should have expected it" Scott snorted, rocking Bruce, gently.

  
“Are you going to call Phil?” Peter asked, bouncing Tony.

  
“Yeah, after breakfast is all cleaned up. We'll put something on for the kids" Scott said.

  
By the time everyone was calm again, nobody was hungry anymore. Bucky helped Steve herd everyone into the sitting room while JARVIS put on The Emperors New Grove without being asked. The pre-teens set the baby’s in the play pen then sat together on their spot on the floor while the other kids curled up on the couches, the twins on one love seat and Clint and Natasha on the other, Thor on the couch.

  
Bucky could hear the adults + Peter cleaning the kitchen and grumbling about Clint’s aim. It made him feel a bit better.

  
“What’s wrong Buck?” Steve whispered, taking his hand.

  
Bucky shrugged, eyes fixed on the screen. It was weird, him and his boyfriend being so young. They were luckier then the others, Phil and Clint especially, but it was still weird. They hadn't kissed or anything as theses new ages, they both thought it would be too awkward. It was making Bucky feel like there was something in between them now, something that had never been there as long as they've known each other. It was becoming unbearably saddening.

  
“Bucky come on, what’s eating you" Steve pushed.

  
“I just hate being this young,” Bucky snapped, “I hate that our team are so helpless right now, I hate that we're treated like we can’t do anything for ourselves, I hate this new barrier between us, I just hate everything about this!”

  
Steve’s eyes were wide, surprised. Not of how much he hated this or anything, but how honest he was about it.  
He's 10 now okay? It’s not his fault he can’t control his emotions.

  
“Bucky…” Steve sighed, “I hate it too. But we have to stay strong. The rest of our team looks up to us, now more then ever. We need to put them first."

  
Bucky huffed, but he let Steve pull him into his side.

  
Sometimes, it sucked dating Captain America. There was only so much righteousness someone could stand.

*******

  
**Clint**

  
Clint was enjoying himself. Which, he though, was weird. By all accounts, he should be as miserable as Natasha, if not more so. Like, his boyfriend was 42 and he was now 3 ½ . That’s enough to make anyone miserable.

  
But here’s the thing. Clint had a shitty childhood. Not as bad as some maybe, definitely not as bad as Tony, Bruce, or Natasha. But he grew up with the Circus. And before that, it had just been him and Barney stealing whatever they needed to survive. He never really got the chance to be a kid, he skipped all that and jumped right to responsibility and pain. So he was looking at this kinda like a rewrite, a way to go back to have a do over. Plus, he could get away with anything.

  
“Clint, why are you not wearing pants again?”

  
Giggling, he ducked behind the couch as Sam half-heartedly tried to catch him, holding Clint’s purple pants.

  
“Steve could you-?”

  
“I've got it."

  
Suddenly he was air born, a pair of hands grabbing him around his middle. He squeaked in surprise as Steve lifted him effortlessly over one shoulder, holding him there securely as Sam put his pants back on him. Once he was covered, Steve set him on the couch and walked back to Bucky.

  
Clint pouted, arms crossed over his chest. Sam then went back into the kitchen and Clint, suddenly wanting to do something, followed.

  
“You sure you'll be okay with them all on your own?” Scott was saying. His voice was coming from the front hall, not the kitchen, and Clint veered that way instead.

  
“Yeah, it'll be fine. I've got Peter, and Steve and Bucky are huge helps" Sam replied. The adults were standing by the door, Scott pulling a light jacket on, appropriate for the April weather.

  
“Okay. I'm just going to get groceries, then I'm checking in on Cassie. I'll be three hours tops."

  
“Relax. Enjoy your time with your daughter. We'll be okay here."

  
Scott still hesitated, but eventually nodded, turning and leaving out the door. Sam slumped against the door as soon as it was closed, letting out a tired sigh.

  
“Are you okay?” Clint asked.

  
Sam jumped, obviously not having noticed he was there.

  
“Oh, hey Clint. Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."

  
“You're always tired lately" Clint frowned.

  
Sam blinked, “uh."

  
“Clint?” Steve came around the corner then, “We're putting on Toy Story, if you want to come join us."

  
Clint, glanced at Sam, but the man was tidying the shoes and wasn't looking at them anymore. So he shrugged and followed Steve back into the living room.

  
Peter was on the floor playing with Tony and Bruce when they entered. Eyes lighting up, Clint ran over to play too. They were playing with cars, which was cool.

  
“Can I play?” Clint asked Peter.

  
The teen gave him a big grin, “Of course Clint! Here, you can have this one. I know purple is your favorite color."

  
Clapping excitedly, Clint took the purple car from Peter and settled down beside Bruce.

  
Everyone was blissfully occupied for the whole movie. The younger kids playing quietly the whole time. But soon, Tony and Bruce began to yawn, and Peter and Sam put them down for a nap, leaving Clint to play by himself.

  
It was some time later, the baby’s still napping and Toy Story 2 playing on screen while Peter and Sam made lunch when a phone started ringing.  
Everyone collectively looked up, looking for the source of the ringing. Clint recognized the sound of Tony's phone and crawled over to the jacket thrown carelessly by the T.V. Digging through the pockets, he came out victorious as he held up Tony's phone.

  
Then answered it.

  
“Clint no-!”

  
“Hello?”

  
“… I'm sorry, who is this? Where’s Tony?” Pepper’s voice asked on the other end.

  
“Oh hi Pepper! It’s me, Clint! Tony is napping” Steve was beside him now, trying to take the phone, but he danced out of reach.

  
“Oh, hello Clint. You sound… different."

  
“That's because I'm 3 now!” Steve was trying to pin him down now, but Clint wiggled away and leaped onto the back of the couch.

  
Pepper was silent for a moment before letting out a “Pardon?”

  
“Yeah! We got shrunk by that big old-" he leaped over Bucky’s grabby hands, “ugly-" he flipped himself over Thor, “Green lady in Manhattan.”

  
“Oh, I see.”

  
Wanda and Pietro were giggling like mad, Wanda using her powers to stop Steve from grabbing him at one point. Thor too got in on the action, tripping Bucky as he ran past. Natasha just watched with a hint of amusement.

  
“Yeah! And guess what? Actually, wait one sec" he pulled the phone away from his ear. He was on top of the T.V cabinet now, and he was enjoying this.

  
“Could you please give us a moment, we're having a discussion here" he told Steve and Bucky, who were standing underneath him, both silently fuming.

  
He put the phone back to his ear, “Sorry Pepper. Anyway! Guess what? I've got little arrows on my shirt!”

  
Pepper made a strangled noise, “wow, uh, that’s nice honey. Are there any… adults around?”

  
Clint felt his heart sink. It was stupid to want people to like his shirts, he knew, but it was disappointing to be so excited about them and no one cared.

  
“Yeah. One sec" he threw the phone to Steve, “she wants Sam."

  
“Thank you Clint" Steve huffed, leaving the room phone in hand. Bucky meanwhile held his arms out to grab Clint, who fell into his arms willingly.  
“You woke the baby's” Bucky scolded, setting him on the ground. Sure enough, Clint turned to see Tony and Bruce watching wide eyed from the play pen.

  
“Oops" he grumbled, looking down at his feet.

  
“Go sit down and watch the movie. Quietly" Bucky ordered, before following Steve. Slouching, head down, Clint walked over to Natasha and curled up beside her.

  
“What's wrong" she asked, running figures through his hair. She knew getting in trouble never fizzed him, so she knew it had to be something else.

  
Clint shrugged, sniffing.

  
“Don't give me that" Natasha scowled, “What’s going on?”

  
He sighed, “No one cares about my shirts" he mumbled into her shoulder, “and I think they're cool."

  
“You’re upset because no one else is excited or interested in the things your excited or interested in?” Natasha asked, confused. He nodded.  
She thought about that for a second, then kissed the top of his head.

  
“Well, screw them. I like your shirts."

  
His head snapped up, eyes wide as he locked eyes with Natasha. Her red hair was pushed back by a black head band that matched her all black outfit. He thought it made her look more innocent, instead of more frightening like she was probably going for.

  
“Really?”

  
“Really" she smiled softly, “now watch the movie. Jessy is about to be awesome."

  
He snuggled back against her side, peacefulness restored and smile on his face. He knew he could always count on Tasha.

*******

  
**Peter**

  
Peter had never had siblings. Or cousins, Aunt May and Uncle Ben never had any kids. He'd never babysat, or even held a distant related family members child before. So this whole kid thing was 100% new for him.

  
He thought he was doing okay. Like, Tony seemed to like him. Bruce too. Playing with the kids was no problem, he had always been young at heart. It was the dealing with temper tantrums and fights where he was extremely clueless.

  
Like right now, for example.

  
“You stole it from me!”

  
“I did no such deed! You are delusional.”

  
“Am not! You took it out of my hand!”

  
“The hand that was open, making people believe you were giving it away!”

  
“That's it, come here!”

  
Pietro suddenly leaped at Thor, knocking both boys off the couch. Tony, who had been happily playing with toy tools on Peter’s lap, jumped at the bang the boys made as they hit the floor. The crying that followed caused Bruce, who was sitting next to Peter, to start crying too. Thankful to have something he could do, Peter worked on calming them down while Pietro and Thor traded hits, the blue ball they had been fighting over forgotten on the couch.

  
“Uh, guys?” Peter started, rocking Tony, “Could you, stop? Fighting? Please?”

  
They ignored him, rolling past Natasha and Clint. Clint was standing on the couch cheering on Thor while Wanda, over on the other loveseat, cheered on Pietro. Peter wished Bucky or Steve were in here, but they were helping Sam clean up dinner. Scott still hadn't returned.

  
“Get him Thor! Right in the face!”

  
“Clint sit down, you’re going to fall."

  
“Shh Tasha this is too intense to worry about safety.”

  
“Punch him in the nuts Pietro! Yeah there you go!”

  
“Wanda stop cheering them on” Peter scolded her.

  
“Clint’s cheering too!”

  
“Clint’s 3, you’re 6. You should know better."

  
“Ouch!”

  
Suddenly the fighting stopped. Pietro was holding his nose and Thor was panting, but looked victorious. Pietro’s eyes welled up with tears as blood started to ooze through his fingers.

  
“Pietro!” Wanda cried, running to her brothers side as he began to full on cry. Thor meanwhile climbed back onto the couch, grabbed the ball, held it up and screamed “Victory!”

  
Peter could feel a migraine coming on. He lifted Tony and Bruce, still crying, and put them in the play pen, where they clung to each other. Then Peter kneeled down beside Pietro to get a look at his nose.

  
“Move your hands Pietro" Peter instructed gently. The crying boy was clinching Wanda pitifully, but let go of his nose when asked.

  
Peter carefully felt it to see if it was broken. As someone who broke his nose a lot, he knew what to look for. The blood was pumping freely now all down his Flash shirt and onto the carpet. It was all over Peter's hands now too.

  
“It’s not broken” Peter concluded, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up."

  
Pietro cried louder, but allowed Peter to help him to his feet. Clint and Thor where bouncing on the couches screaming “Victory! Victory!” Peter made sure to grab Thor's arm on his way by.

  
“You, are in big trouble mister. Sam is not going to be happy with you."

  
Thor pulled his arm away, snorted, and continued his chant, bouncing away. Deciding to let it go for now, he led the twins-because Wanda was still attached to her brother- into the bathroom. He lifted Pietro up onto the counter and told him to hold his head over the sink.

  
“Watch him please Wanda" He said. Wanda nodded, rubbing her brothers back in comfort.

  
Peter made his way to Pietro’s room and grabbed him a pair of PJ's. They were silky and had race cars all over them. They would do.

  
Back In the bathroom, Pietro's nose was still dripping, but it seemed to be calming down. Pietro too, had stopped crying, but he still gave Peter a pathetic look when he came in.

  
“It hurts" he whined.

  
“Well you shouldn't have started a fight with Thor” Peter tisked, walking past him and starting a bath.

  
“He started it" Pietro grumbled.

  
“And now you're paying the price.”

  
Pietro didn't have anything to say to that. Sam popped his head in then, eyebrow raised.

  
“What the hell happened?”

  
“Thor and Pietro got into a fist fight, Pietro now has a bloody nose” Peter summed up, checking the water temperature.

  
“Right. Okay. So punishments are in order then?”

  
“Thor started it!” Pietro cried, Wanda nodding in agreement.

  
“Doesn't matter. You both broke a rule."

  
“What rule? We don't have rules" Wanda snapped, glaring at Sam.

  
Sam opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. He shared a look with Peter, then said, “Right. We need to have a meeting."

  
“Let me get Pietro cleaned up first, then we can talk. The other kids should have baths tonight too actually, they haven't had one since before they all got turned into kids.”

  
“Good idea. We can give them all one after the meeting" Sam said, “hopefully Scott will be back by then.”

  
Peter hummed in agreement as Sam left, leaving Peter with the kids. He shut the water of and told Pietro to strip, lifting him off the counter.  
“No way!” Pietro screeched, “not with you in here! I can wash myself!”

  
“I know enough about 6-year-olds to know they shouldn't be left in a bath unsupervised, strip Pietro, the blood is starting to dry up"

  
Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him, the occasional drip running down his already blood covered face. He looked like he'd just eaten a heart or something, it was freaky.

  
“The longer you fight with me the longer of a punishment you get" Peter told him, holding up a hand and starting to lift fingers slowly. Pietro hesitated, looking at Wanda, who shrugged. Obviously he decided to stop fighting, because he let out a groan and took his shirt off. His pants followed and he stormed into the tub.

  
“Thank you" Peter said, picking up a wash cloth. Pietro huffed.

  
“Why don't you go help Sam clean up the carpet?” Peter suggested to Wanda. She hesitated, glancing at Pietro, then nodded, leaving the bathroom.

  
Peter kneeled beside the tub and began scrubbing the blood off of Pietro. He started with his face , because a face that cute covered in blood was enough to give him nightmares, then worked his way down his body. After all the blood was off, and the bath water ran red, he washed Pietro’s hair, running his fingers through it gently. The whole time he was being washed, Pietro pouted, knees up to his chest and staring at the wall.

  
“Okay, you’re done, time to get out" Peter finished. Pietro grumpily exited the tub and allowed Peter to dry him off before dressing himself. Then the two made their way into the sitting room.

  
Thor was sitting in the corner, back stiff and glaring at the wall. Clint was being scolded by Sam while Steve, Bucky and Wanda scrubbed at the carpet. Natasha was reading a book to Tony and Bruce, who were staring at it in awe.

  
Sam looked up as they entered. “Pietro, go stand in that corner" he pointed to the corner opposite Thor. Pietro angrily stormed over to it.  
Peter was about to go help clean the carpet when Sam stopped him.

  
“Dude, your covered in blood and bath water. Go change."

  
He looked down at himself in surprise, then back up at Sam sheepishly.

  
“Yeah, probably a good idea."

  
By the time he had changed and returned, Scott was back and looked like he was trying not to laugh as Sam explained what happened.  
“He gave him a bloody nose?” Scott smiled, “that’s hilarious!”

  
“I didn't think so" Peter snorted, “and either did he."

  
“That I believe" Scott chuckled.

  
“Okay, meeting time" Sam said. They gathered the kids and sat them at the table, each adult holding a baby and Peter holding Clint.

  
“It’s been brought to my attention that we need some rules” Sam began, “up until now, you all have been having fun, testing your boundaries as children. That’s fine, but today you took it too far" he looked pointedly at Thor, then Pietro.

  
“You guys are likely going to be this age for a while. I know it sucks, but you might as well start getting used to it" he looked at Natasha this time, who glared back.

  
“So, form now on, there's going to be some rules" he looked around the table to make sure everyone was listening, then continued.

  
“1. No fighting. You guys are friends, team mates, family, don't hurt one another. 2. You can't say you can't play. Don't be mean to each other, allow everyone to play with you, don't not include people. 3. Ask for help. Some of you are too young now to do things on your own, don't try to do things you as an adult can do, but a child your current age couldn't do. 4. No one goes anywhere without an adult or Peter. No one has tried that yet, but when we move, it'll be easier for you guys to just disappear on us. 5. Don’t talk back to us. We're just trying to help. We can add more to this list later, but for now we'll stick to that. JARVIS please make a note."

  
“Of course"

  
“Any questions?”

  
Clint raised his hand.

  
“Yes Clint?” Scott said.

  
“Can I go to bed now?”

  
Scott chuckled as Sam rubbed his temple. “Actually no Clint. You're all having baths tonight.

“Aw man."

*******

That night, after everyone was in bed, Scott, Sam and Peter sat in the sitting room, Sam's phone on the coffee table in front of them, Phil's voice on speaker.

  
“The house is practically perfect. You couldn't have picked somewhere better. The school is small, but there's enough kids they'll blend in nicely" Phil was saying.

  
“The kids aren't going to like this,” Peter fidgeted, “going to school? That’s a fight waiting to happen.”

  
“They need something to do with their time,” Phil insisted, “and us adults can't handle 9 kids for two months. If we just have Tony and Bruce, it'll be easier to look for other options to change them back while we wait for Strange to get back to us."

  
“No no I get that,” Peter jumped in, “I'm just saying they might not."

  
The group was silent for a second, allowing that to sink in.

  
“They're just going to have to live with it" Sam decided, “We can even send Clint to day care or something."

  
“Actually, he can still go to Junior Kindergarten here, but it’s only a half day thing" Phil intervened.

  
“Really? Awesome" Scott smiled.

  
“My thoughts exactly. I need you guys to call Rhodey and fill him in, him and Peter will have to remain in New York.”

  
Peter nodded, kinda bummed. He liked the kids, he was enjoying himself. But he knew he couldn't stay.

  
“What about transportation?” Scott asked, “We can't take a jet. I think a small town like Bracebridge would notice a jet."

  
“Its going to have to be public,” Phil sighed, “I'll get us tickets. You guys need to get some names figured out, and maybe make there be two family’s sharing a house. You guys can be a couple and I'll be a single parent. Work with that."

  
“Sam and I are a couple now?” Scott snorted, “alright then" he turned to Sam, “I believe it’s your turn to tend to they baby's tonight honey."  
“I hate this plan already" Sam groaned. Peter covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

  
“I'll buy tickets for Saturday the 18th, that’s three days away. Do you think you guys can get everything shipped off by then? As well as fake names given and story’s straight?”

  
“Yeah Phil we can do that" Scott nodded to the phone.

  
“Great. I'm landing now, so call Rhodey. I'll drop in tomorrow sometime."

  
“Okay. Clint will like that. Bye Phil" Peter said, hitting the end call button.

  
“Rhodey next" Sam said, holding his hand out for his phone. Peter handed it over and the other man scrolled through his phone, then pressed call on a number. He placed it back on the table just as Rhodey picked up.

  
“Hey Sam what's up."

  
“Hey man. We got Peter and Scott here too."

  
“Hey Rhodey."

  
“Hi."

  
“Hey guys. What’s going on? Need me to come in?”

  
“No, nothing like that,” Scott reassured, “just filling you in."

  
The next few minutes were spent catching the military man up to speed, only for him to stop them half way through.

  
“The farm house? Oh yeah, I'm surprised Tony even offered it."

  
“What do you mean? You knew about it?” Sam asked.

  
“Yeah I knew about it. You think Tony would buy his boyfriend something so special without freaking out to his best friend about it at three in the morning? Come on" he laughed.

  
“He bought it for Bruce?” Peter asked, shocked, “what for?”

  
“Apparently, when Bruce was hopping around trying to stay away from Ross, he spent some time up there. He loved the place, wanted to move there some day. Tony knew about it, so for their 1 year anniversary, he bought him the little farm house out there. I mean it was Tony, so it didn't stay little for long, and the barn is empty so they never had to worry about live stalk, but it was theirs to enjoy as they pleased. They've been up there a few times, they always told me when they were leaving so I could find them if there was a call to assemble."

  
The men thought about that, realizing how much Tony must care to give that up, Bruce too.

  
“We'll make sure to thank them. It couldn't have been easy giving that up.” Sam promised.

  
“You better" Rhodey huffed.

  
They finished catching him up, then let him go. The three sat in silence for a while, until Scott broke it.

  
“We need to pick names."

  
Peter and Sam looked at him.

  
“We could make them based off of their last names” Peter suggested.

  
“How?” Sam asked.

  
“Well, Pietro could be Max, and Wanda could Amery.”

  
“A play on Maximoff” Sam nodded, “Okay. What about Thor?”

  
“Odie?” Scott suggested.

  
“That works. Steve could be Roger and Bucky could be Barney" Peter threw in.

  
“Not Barney” Sam shook his head, “That was Clint's brothers name."

  
Peter winched, “Okay, maybe just James then. No one calls him that."

  
“Right. What about Clint?”

  
That was harder. They all thought about it for a minute.

  
“We could just call him Kevin and be done with it" Scott suggested. They all agreed.

  
“Nathalie? For Natasha?” Sam asked. More nods.

  
“You could be Will" Scott told Sam.

  
“You could be Leo" Sam replied.

  
“Are you keeping Tony and Bruce’s names?” Peter asked.

  
“Might as well. They're staying with us, not going to school or day care" Sam pointed out.

  
“Last names?” Scott asked.

  
“Smith!” Peter snapped. They stared at him.

  
“Why Smith?” Sam asked.

  
“It's a very common name, no one will look twice.”

  
Scott suddenly started laughing. So hard he actually fell off the couch.

  
“What on earth is so funny?” Peter asked, confused.

  
“That-weez-makes him Will Smith!” he laughed harder, head hitting the floor.

  
“Tic-tac, I will actually kill you."

  
Scott just laughed harder.

  
Sam sighed, rubbing his temple. “Okay, so Smith is out."

  
“No No!-weez-Smith is fine!”

  
“How about Brown? That’s common too" Peter suggested instead.

  
“Much better."

  
“Aw, come on. Smith was perfect!” Scott insisted, big goofy smile as he pulled himself off the floor, retaking his seat.

  
“Okay, that’s your family. Now for Phil’s" Peter said.

  
“Clint is obvious" Sam said, “and we should split up the couple’s. Give him Bruce and Bucky?"  
“Sure. Last names for them?” Scott asked.

  
“Chase?” Peter suggested.

  
“Perfect. Okay so now we've got two family’s. The Browns, featuring Leo, Will, Roger, Odie, Max, Amery, Nathalie and Tony. Then we have the Chase's, featuring Cole, James, Kevin and Bruce" Scott summed up.

  
“Did you just call Phil, ‘Cole’?” Peter asked.

  
“It’s the obvious choice."

  
“We can come up with a back story tomorrow. I'm pooped" Sam yawned, stretching his hands over his head. The other two agreed and they all went their separate ways.

  
Tomorrow they would tell the kids. They needed all the rest they could get.

 

*******

  
**Wanda**

  
“I am not going by Amery" Wanda hissed, arms crossed over her chest and glaring daggers at Sam. She was so close to using her powers to throw him out the window it wasn't even funny.

  
“It’s temporary” Sam repeated, hands up in a soothing position, “you'll still be Wanda at home."

  
“At home? At home?!” Wanda shrieked, “We'll be in Canada! Canada! Going to school! What the hell!”

  
“It isn't that bad" Pietro soothed, hand on her back.

  
“Easy for you to say, Max" she hissed.

  
“It's okay Wanda, you'll get used to it" Clint said, coming up to her and taking her hand. “At shield, Tasha and I had to do all kinds of things with fake names. Once, we had to be preacher's. I had to wear the whole outfit and Tasha was a nun, a nun! We called her Rose and I was Jeff."

  
“This is different" Wanda insisted, “We have to go to school!”

  
“Yeah, that kinda sucks" Clint admitted, “but we can all just pretend it’s a mission. It'll be fun!”

  
“Fun" Wanda snorted, pushing Clint away, “right."

  
“I am the mighty Odie! Fight me sir Roger!” Thor screamed at Steve, suddenly making a flying leap at the older child.

  
Steve gave a high pitched help as Thor knocked him over. Bucky, who had been arguing with Scott about having to go by James, burst out laughing, pointing a finger at his boyfriend.

  
“Oh shut up" Steve grumbled, pushing Thor off of him.

  
“Y-you sounded *snort* like a kitten!” Bucky continued laughing.

  
“Oh yeah?” Steve suddenly smirked, “let’s see how you like it."

  
That was all the warning he gave before pouncing on the other boy, knocking them both to the ground. Bucky squealed and whacked Steve’s back half-heartedly, still laughing.

  
Wanda bit her lip, watching the boys. Thor was on the couch now, loudly cheering on “Roger."Tony and Bruce were playing on a mat a few feet away and both were laughing. Pietro was snickering beside her, mouth covered by his hand. Even Natasha was smiling, standing with Clint in the doorway.

  
Sam and Scott however, looked ready to rip hair out.

  
“Boys! Break it up!” Sam called, walking over.

  
Steve let go of Bucky at the adults order, sitting up looking sheepish. Bucky was still giggling as he rolled onto Steve’s lap, taking his face in his hands gently and just smiling up at him.

  
“I know you guys were just having fun, but you both are a lot stronger then everyone else. I don't want you rough housing in the house, you could hurt someone. When we get to our safe house, there's a huge yard for you to do that in. Okay?” Scott told them gently.

  
Bucky sat up then, amusement all but gone as he rolled his eyes.

  
“Okay" Steve agreed, looking down hearted.

  
Wanda glared at Scott and Sam. Why were they being so mean to them? They were just playing! They said they wanted them to act like kids but when they do they get in trouble! No wonder Bucky hates this as much as Natasha.

  
Sam returned to Wanda, kneeling down beside her. “I know you hate getting a new name and having to go to school, but this could be fun for you!”

  
She scuffed, but didn’t reply.

  
Sam opened his mouth, likely to argue some more, when Peter poked his head in.

  
“Lunch is ready kidlits, go wash up.”

  
Thor, unsurprisingly, leaped up from the couch to bolt to the bathroom. Clint was hot on his heels, his joyful giggle ringing through the hall. Sam and Scott went to pick up Bruce and Tony, but we’re pushed away as the youngest Avengers decided to walk on their own. It was adorable watching Tony wobble awkwardly, tongue out in consideration. Bruce, who was old enough to walk perfectly fine, helped him whenever he stumbled.

  
Natasha, Steve and Bucky all left the room together, chatting quietly. Wanda caught the words “school" and “children.”

  
Pietro rubbed her back, then took off after the others, leaving her alone in the sitting room with Sam and Scott.

  
“Why were you so mean to Steve and Bucky?” she asked them, picking up a blue ball, “they were just playing."

  
Sam and Scott looked at each other, as if deciding who would answer. They communicated for several seconds through eyebrow raised and mouth lines. Finally Sam kneeled back down to her level.

  
“Wanda, what did we tell you about using your powers?”

  
Wanda tilted her head, her red hair tickling her shoulder. “You said until I'm big again, I can only use them in emergencies. Because I could hurt someone.

  
“Right,” Sam nodded. Wanda saw Scott leave the living room over Sam's shoulder. “Steve and Bucky's ‘power’ is their strength. Rough housing uses that ability, and we don’t want them hurting anyone. Do you remember how awful you felt when you hurt people by accident before the accords disaster?”

  
Wanda felt tears spring to her eyes at the reminder. That whole thing had been her fault, no one let her say it out loud but she new it was true. Furiously blinking back tears, she nodded.

  
“We don't want any of you to feel like that, especially when you guys are this age. I know it seems harsh, but Steve and Bucky would have felt horrible" Sam explained, voice soft. He opened his arms and Wanda latched onto him without a second though, burying her face in his neck and letting out a sob.

  
Sam rubbed her back soothingly, humming a soft tune. She could feel herself relax listening to it and feeling the vibrations in his chest.  
After several minutes she pulled away, wiping her cheeks. Sam gave her a small smile, using his thumb to brush away the last of her tears.  
“Ready for some lunch now?” He asked.

  
Wanda sniffed, thinking about her team, her family, sitting in the kitchen waiting for them, and nodded.

***

  
**Natasha**

  
Natasha was slowly warming up to the idea of being 5.

  
Not entirely, and she would never say it out loud, but being a kid wasn't completely horrible. It helped that she convinced herself it was for a mission, that she had to blend in with other children. That always made things easier. Besides, if she could survive being a nun, she could survive being Nathalie, the 5-year-old adorable little girl.

  
Clint was a huge help too. On movie night that Friday, her partner had curled himself around her like it was a normal movie night. He was a head smaller then her now, while before they stood at about the same height. The new size allowed him to curl into her perfectly.

  
About halfway through the movie he had looked up at her, eyes warm and body relaxed. “I’m glad you're giving this a shot Nat" he had breathed, “Its much more fun with you to enjoy it with me."

  
She had been touched by his words, so naturally she told him to shut up and watch the movie, much to his amusement.

  
After the movie, Sam and Scott had sat everyone down at the table again and explained the plan for the next day.

  
“Phil will be here at 6 to take us to the airport. Our plane leaves at 12pm giving us four hours to get to the airport and two hours to get on the plane.” Sam had told them. “We're taking three vehicles. Phil, Sam and I will be taking three kids each" Scott had continued.

  
“Natasha, Clint and Bucky are going with Phil" Sam explained, “Steve, Tony and Thor are going with Scott and Wanda, Pietro and Bruce are going with me."

  
“You all need to be on your best behaviors, this is the first time you've been out in public. Remember the fake names, especially on the plane" Scott warned.

  
“It’s a five hour plane ride, so we'll arrive in Ontario around 5pm. The ride to the safe house is three hours, and the car arrangement will be the same."

  
“It’s going to be a long day" Sam told them, picking Tony up, “so I suggest you all get some rest."

  
That morning had been chaotic, naturally. Tony and Bruce’s cribs had already been shipped, so they had slept surrounded by pillows again, which worried Natasha a bit. Most of their clothes and toys were already gone too, so they each only had a bag with a few outfits in it and a little bag each for stuff to do on the car rides and plane ride.

  
Getting everyone up and out the door had been a chore for the three adults. Thor was too busy pretending to be king to listen, and Clint jumped right on to that thought, running around behind him and screaming songs from the Lion King. Tony and Bruce were cranky and Pietro had remembered his fear of heights, so the three of them were to upset to listen.

  
By the time everyone was in the cars, it was 6:45.

  
“If we miss this plane I will murder you all" Phil grumbled, hands gripping the wheel tight.

  
“No you won't” Clint giggled. The 3-year-old was very happy considering he was in a car seat. Natasha had almost threw a fit when she had saw hers.

  
“I don't know, he looks pretty murderous” Bucky smirked from the front seat. He poked Phil’s face with his metal hand that was covered in a glove, “smile Phil, we're stuck in this car for four hours, smiling will make hell more fun."

  
Clint giggled again, turning to Natasha with a big grin.

  
Phil snorted, batting Bucky’s hand away. “Smiling requires energy I lack this morning. I'm just glad I wasn’t given Bruce or Tony."

  
“Or Pietro. How could he forget he was afraid of heights?” Clint asked.

  
“It’s been a long week" Natasha reminded him, playing with her hair. It was in pigtails held up by black ribbons. She could still see Sam's shocked look when she asked him to put them in for her when she closed her eyes. She had decided to be as adorable as possible, figuring it would help her get into character.

  
“Yeah, I guess it has. Do you think we'll make friends at school?” Clint asked, tilting his head.

  
“Probably. Or, you will anyway."

  
“I won't” Bucky scuffed, “Why would you even want to make friends with children? It’s not like we're real kids, they'll just be sad when their friends disappear one day because they suddenly became adults."

  
“But Phil said we're stuck like this for a while!” Clint whined, “We might as well make friends."

  
“That’s right Bucky" Phil told him, “as your new pretend father I encourage you to make friends."

  
Bucky glared at him, “I am not calling you dad."

  
“But it’s part of the cover!” Clint screeched, sitting as forward as he could in his seat, “you can't blow the cover!”

  
“Clint, sit properly. Bucky, we could say you were adopted" Natasha suggested, leaning forward to put a hand on his shoulder, “That way, no one will question you calling him Cole."

  
Bucky huffed, crossing his arms, but didn't reply.

  
“As long as he doesn't blow the cover" Clint grumbled.

  
“Why don't you three play a game?” Phil suggested.

  
“Like what?” Natasha asked, pushing Clint away as he tried to look out her window.

  
“Like eye spy. Clint, why don't you start."

  
Clint's eyes lit up, “Okay! I spy with my little eye something that is…” he looked out the window at the stretch of land with houses spotting the distance intently, “green."

  
“The grass?” Natasha guessed, unimpressed.

  
“Nope!”

  
“That tree?” Phil asked, pointing to a big pine tree as they passed it.

  
“Nuh uh!”

  
“That sign?” Natasha suggested.

  
“Um uh."

  
“That car? Wow, that’s a really green car" Phil chuckled.

  
“No!”

  
“Your shirt?” Bucky sighed, giving into the game.

  
“No!”

  
“My bag?” Natasha held up her bag full of things to keep her busy, like her tablet and some coloring stuff.

  
“Nope!” Clint was giggling now.

  
“My jacket?” Bucky asked, pointing to the dark green lining on it.

  
“Wrong!”

  
They all took turns guessing for another couple minutes until finally Natasha gave up.

  
“Okay Clint, I give up. What is it?”

  
Clint giggled, “you know when you stare at a light to long and you close your eyes and you see colored spots? That."

  
Bucky groaned, rubbing his face. Phil gave Clint a unimpressed look through the mirror and Natasha whacked the back of his head, all the while Clint laughed.

  
It was going to be a long drive.

*

  
They arrived at the airport first and had to wait for the others. Clint was bored and hungry and was complaining about anything he could find. Bucky was kicking a rock just outside the car, going around the vehicle a million times. Natasha was coloring quietly in her seat in her Avengers coloring book, currently coloring in Tony's face mask. Phil was on the phone with Peter, thanking the boy again for helping Sam and Scott this week. His goodbye the night before had broke Tony's heart, the young boy clinging to Peter and screaming. Even Natasha had felt bad for Tony.  
“There they are!” Clint suddenly cried, turning around in his seat to watch the two other cars pull up. Sam got out first, looking a bit ruffled up. Scott got out of the other one just as Bucky reached it, clearly waiting for Steve, who got out next.

  
Sam opened the door to grab Bruce, who was crying. Natasha put her things away to see what she could do to help, getting out of the car.  
“That was most enjoyable!” Thor got out saying, “I love this bottles on a wall song! On Asgard, we really do have that much bottles on walls! You mortals must have heard of it."

  
“Or, we just have really creative imaginations Thor" Steve snorted, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

  
Scott grabbed Tony, who was fast asleep by the looks of it. How he fell asleep to Thor's singing was beyond Natasha, but she was impressed.  
“Did you have fun?!” Clint asked Wanda, bouncing up to her. The girl fidgeted with her braid, biting her lip as she looked down at Clint.

  
“Um. Yes?” she said.

  
“I don't want to!” Pietro cried. Natasha noticed he hadn't left his seat, arms crossed and lip wobbling while Sam tried to convince him to come out.

  
“You'll probably sleep the whole time" Sam told him, “Wanda is going, don't you want to be with Wanda?”

  
The 7-year-old-boy whimpered, curling up tighter.

  
“We're going to miss our plane" Phil fretted, looking at his watch. “It's 10:30 and we still need to get through the airport security stuff."

  
“Just pick him up" Scott suggested, still holding a sleeping Tony, “We can calm him on the way."

  
Sam sighed, but did just that, handing a still crying Bruce to Phil. Pietro stopped fighting, letting Sam carry him and curling into him pitifully. Wanda hovered close by, looking worried.

  
Natasha went over to her and took her hand. The other girl gave her a grateful look.

  
“Okay guys,” Phil started, bouncing Bruce, “fake names from now on. Be on your best behavior."

  
The kids all nodded, then they were off.

  
Bruce eventually cried himself to sleep on Phil’s shoulder, and Pietro only gave the occasional sniff. The way through security and baggage was a nightmare for all of them, but they all got through okay. Clint had jumped on the conveyer belt to get himself X-Rayed, Sam's screech of “Kevin! Get off of there!” echoed around the airport. Thor had found this hilarious and had attempted it himself, much to the adults annoyance. Natasha was impressed by all their passports, considering they had only all gotten their pictures taken yesterday. But then, Phil was very efficient. They made it on the plane with only a few minutes to spare, nearly giving Phil a heart attack.

  
Natasha was beside Clint, who had claimed the window seat. The seats were in rows of three, so the younger kids sat with the adults while the older kids sat with Steve and Bucky. Phil sat on Natasha's other side, reading a book. In front of them, Scott sat with Tony and Wanda, looking ready to pass out. Behind them, Sam sat with Bruce and Pietro, soothing Pietro quietly. Behind Sam, Bucky sat with Steve and Thor, the three boys laughing about something.

  
“You have a big family" a lady with gray curly hair and bright blue eyes commented to Phil from the seat across from them. Phil looked up at her and smiled.

  
“Well, only three of them are mine. The other six belong to these two" Phil explained, pointing to Scott, then Sam.

  
“Oh, I see. Brothers?” she asked.

  
“Yes, Will and I” Phil nodded, pointing to Sam behind him.

  
“Which three are yours?” the lady asked.

  
“Well, that one. His name is Kevin and he's as much as of a headache as three kids put together" Phil started, pointing at Clint who was singing about clouds.

  
“The little boy crawling all over my brother is Bruce, and the Moody looking preteen behind him is James" Phil pointed them all out.

  
“And I'm Cole, Cole Chase" he held out his hand with a smile. She took it, smiling back.

  
“Nice to meet you. I'm Debra Grace. You have a lovely family"

  
“Thank you" Phil nodded. “My niece here is Nathalie,” Phil continued, putting an arm on her shoulders. “My brother’s husband in front of us is Leo, and he's holding their youngest, Tony. Beside him is Amery. Behind us is Amery’s Twin Max, and behind them is Roger and Odie."

  
“So many kids!” she laughed, “I only have two! And both are moved out by now."

  
“I can't wait for that" Phil laughed.

  
The Captain suddenly started speaking, telling them they were ready for lift off and to buckle their seatbelts. Pietro began crying harder, burying his face in Sam's neck. Natasha felt a flash of pity for the boy as she buckled her seatbelt and then helped Clint with his.

  
“So,” the lady continued as the plane started to move, “Why are you headed to Toronto?”

  
“Were moving to Ontario" Phil explained, “it doesn't get attacked by super villains as much as the state’s.”

  
The woman laughed, “We’ll, we have something Canada does not."

  
“Trump?” Clint asked, jumping into the conversation.

  
“Goodness, well yes" Debra chuckled, “but they could have him if they wanted. No, I was referring to the Avengers."

  
Natasha could feel the air around her get tense. The rest of team heard the woman and they all froze. Pietro sucked in a startled breath, forgetting his panic for a moment. Even the boys two seats behind stopped laughing.

  
The woman didn't notice, continuing to talk.

  
“Unfortunately no one knows where they are right now. My guess is they're taking a bit of a vacation. That weird lady did something to them, that Phil character said so in that news report. Makes sense they'd take some time off to heal."

  
“That's all fine and good,” the man beside her suddenly spoke up, Natasha noticed he had a scar over his left eye, “but now those fantastic four fellas are supposedly watching out for us, and they hardly ever leave New York, so the likeliness of them helping us in an emergency is slim. I also don't like that Reed Richards. Tony Stark is rich too, but at least he uses his money to help the public."

  
Tony started laughing then, a high pitched adorable baby's laugh that had the man and woman instantly cooing over him.

  
“Aw, this little man doesn't like him either!” the man laughed, leaning over Debra to smile at Tony, “See this scar? That, rock man, was beating up a villain near my house once, threw a piece of building at it. A bunch flew off and hit me right in the face" he smacked his hands together, making all the kids either jump or flinch. Tony's thumb was in his mouth now, clutching Scott’s shirt as he stared at the man with wide eyes.

  
“That’s why I like the Avengers better" the man shrugged, sitting back in his seat. “I'm John by the way, sorry if I scared your son."

  
“It's… okay,” Scott shook his head to clear it, “Tony here is tough. He loves Tony Stark because they share a name so you boasting about him made Tony more interested then afraid. I'm Leo, nice to meet you."

  
Debra chuckled, running a hand through her hair, “We’ll that was interesting. It successfully distracted your nephew though" she commented to Phil.

  
Natasha turned in her seat to see Pietro with his face hidden in Sam's shirt, no longer crying. It was possible he had fallen asleep.

  
“Yeah, looks like it did" Phil smiled back at Debra.

  
“I like Hawkeye" Clint jumped in again as the plane began descending upwards, “he shots cool arrows.”

  
John and Debra laughed, “I think he's kind of useless,” John said, pushing his blonde hair out of his face, “he shots arrows, come on."

  
Natasha put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing as Clint’s mouth opened in outrage. Phil jumped in before he could lose it on the stranger’s.

  
“Kevin adores Hawkeye, you're asking for a wipping by insulting his idol" Phil told John with a raised eyebrow. John laughed again.

  
“Sorry Kevin, Hawkeye is cool, I didn't mean to offend you."

  
Clint huffed and turned away, staring out the window with his arms crossed, pouting.

  
“So John, Debra” Phil jumped in, “why are you going to Toronto?”

  
“I'm visiting my son for Easter” Debra smiled, looking off into the distance, “Its been months since I've seen him last."

  
“My girlfriend lives in Toronto" John explained. Natasha took note of how his green eyes flashed with an emotion to fast to see, “I'm going to visit her."

  
Natasha tuned them out after that, pulling her coloring book out. The next couple hours passed quickly, Natasha finishing several pictures of herself and her team mates. It was only when Clint started to whine about being hungry that she put it away to tune back in.

  
“Kevin, we're landing in less then half an hour. We'll get something to eat at a restaurant when we arrive" Phil was scolding.

  
“But I'm hungry now daddy!” Clint whined. Natasha felt her eyebrows raise at what Clint called Phil , but she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Phil didn't even seem fizzed, meaning Clint had likely been calling him that for a while. Whether before or after the age change she was unsure.  
Suddenly wanting to prove she could get into character too, Natasha climbed onto her knees to peak behind her at Sam. Pietro was fast asleep on his lap, and Bruce was singing about dinosaurs beside them, playing with said dinosaurs in his lap. She took a deep breath, she could do this.

  
“Daddy?” she winched internally, oh god that sounded horrible to her own ears. Sam looked up, surprised to see Natasha looking down at him.  
“Yes Nathalie?”

  
“I'm hungry too"

  
Sam blinked, clearly still surprised. But he shook himself out of it just as Bruce decided that food was a great idea.

  
“I h-hungry too! D-daddy I hungry!” Bruce threw a figure at Phil, which hit him on the back of the head. Phil didn't even flinch, just caught the toy before it hit the ground and turned to pin Bruce with a look.

  
“Bruce, you can eat when we land. And we don't throw things."

  
“B-but I h-h-hungry now!” Bruce whined, eyes tearing up, “I want T-Tony"

  
Out of the corner of her eye, Natasha could see other passengers giving them looks. That was normal, she reminded herself, they were kids starting to act up, adults always got judgmental when that happened.

  
“Tony is asleep. Come sit with daddy, you're going to wake Max."

  
Bruce pouted, but allowed Phil to pull him into his lap. Sam turned back to Natasha then with a sigh, “You heard your uncle. Go bug Papa."

  
Natasha felt her own eyebrows raise at that. Okay then.

  
She hummed and turned back around in her seat to poke Scott on the back of the head. The adult ignored her, but Wanda saw her doing it and started to giggle. Clint heard Wanda's giggle and turned to watch too, smirk on his face as Scott continued to ignore the poking. Natasha kept one eye on Phil so she wouldn't get in trouble, but Phil was talking to Debra and John again, this time about the economy.

  
After several minutes of poking, Scott finally snapped and spun around to face her. Clearly, he was expecting Clint, because his eyes went wide with surprise and whatever words he was about to say died on his tongue.

  
“Papa I'm hungry."

  
Scott’s mouth actually dropped open. He blinked at her several times while all the while Wanda and Clint lost it, rolling in their seats with laughter. Scott finally got his bearings and coughed into his fist.

  
“I uh, think uncle Ph-Cole, answered that one already.”

  
Natasha pouted, making her eyes well up with tears. Wanda and Clint took one look at her and burst out laughing again. Bruce was watching now, completely confused as to what was funny, but giggling along with them.

  
“I'm hungry too papa" Wanda added, blinking her eyelashes innocently. Scott rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand as everyone cracked up again at Wanda’s comment, even Natasha.

  
This was fun, she realized, it was completely childish, something she normally would turn her nose up to, but by the gods she was having fun.  
The seatbelt symbol blinked on then, saving Scott from having to deal with the three giggly children and likely a cranky baby, because they would have woke Tony up had they continued.

  
“Kevin, Nathalie, sit down" Phil huffed, reaching over Natasha to push Clint down into his seat. Clint had both hands covering his mouth to try to contain his giggles while Phil buckled him in, eyes squeezed tight and cheeks red as roses. Scott was having difficulties with Wanda too, as she decided now was a good time to fight putting her seatbelt on. She could hear the other girls giggles and Scott’s growing annoyance in his voice as he tried to get her to sit down while also trying to keep Tony asleep.

  
By the time the plane landed in the Toronto airport, Scott and Phil both had steam coming out their ears. Clint, Wanda, Pietro, Tony, Bruce and Thor were all miserable due to being hungry and tired. Natasha, Steve, and Bucky by silent agreement decided to be on their best behaviors and help get their bags and then the others into the vehicles.

  
“There's a Swiss Chalet just outside the city, I can call ahead and make a reservation for 12" Phil suggested to Sam and Scott as they loaded up the bags.

  
“What's Swiss Chalet? That a restaurant?” Sam questioned, closing the trunk of his car and drowning out the twins and Bruce’s whining and whimpering.

  
“Yeah, it’s a popular chicken restaurant here" Phil explained, passing Natasha her pink and green coloring bag. She took it and laid it on the seat between her and Clint.

  
“Sounds good. Send us the location and we'll meet you there" Scott confirmed, passing Tony his toy Hulk, which stopped the baby's crying.  
“Alright, see you there."

  
Phil climbed into the drivers seat and started the engine. Bucky was looking up at the buildings with interest as Phil started to back up.  
“So this is the most popular place in Canada ah?” the pre-teen asked with a smirk. Phil sighed.

  
The ride through the city was interesting. Clint continued to whine, occasionally bursting into tears because “we're in Canada, I'm going to be eaten by bears.” Bucky spent the trip much more lively then the ride to the airport that morning, pointing out funny looking people and punching Phil every time he saw a punch buggy. Natasha watched the passing buildings with little interest, preparing to allow her mind to go blank for a bit. By the time they reached the restaurant, she was almost asleep and had to be shaken awake by Clint, who seemed much happier now that food was in his grasp.

  
Grumbling and huffing, she rolled out of the car to join the rest of her team at the front of the restaurant. No one was crying anymore, which was a relief. Tony was in Sam's arms, rubbing his left eye with one of his little fists, but he no longer looked cranky. Bruce was wide awake still, hanging off of Scott’s pants and singing about chicken. Wanda and Pietro were looking through the window of the restaurant and giggling about whatever they saw inside. Bucky jogged over to Steve, who was admiring the flowers hanging by the doors. Thor was jumping up and down chanting about ‘dinners of champions’.

  
Natasha grabbed Clint’s hand in an order to stay by her side. He got the message, happily swinging their hands back and forth as the approached.

  
“It’s under ‘Brown’” Phil told the adults as they stepped up beside them, “let’s go."

  
The inside of Swiss Chalet was dimly lit, casting shadows along the walls. Pictures of the food hung proudly on the wall, outlining their signature dishes.

  
As they reached the podium, a young girl came out of the kitchen with a big grin. Her gray eyes sparkled in amusement as she took in all nine children, actually laughing when Thor loudly exclaimed how yummy one dishes on the wall looked.

  
“You must be the Browns.” She smiled at Phil.

  
“What gave it away?” Scott smiled, switching Bruce over to his other arm. The girl laughed, grabbing some menus. Natasha noticed her nametag read Alexandra.

  
“Would you two like kids menus?” she asked Steve and Bucky. Bucky's eyes flashed in outrage, but Steve smiled and jumped in.

  
“Yes please."

  
Bucky looked ready to murder him.

  
Alexandra led them to a table at the back of the restaurant. Two high chairs and two booster seats were already set up. Natasha thought about arguing, but decided at the last second to just go with it, climbing into her seat with a huff.

  
“Your server will be over as soon as she can" Alexandra smiled, waving at Tony, who giggled.

  
“Thank you" Sam nodded to her. She smiled-this girl was way too happy- and left.

  
“Can I have pizza?” Pietro asked, circling the pizza on his kids menu with red crayon.

  
“Sure Max, you can have pizza" Sam said, sitting down beside him after strapping Tony into his high chair.

  
“Oh me too me too!” Wanda jumped up and down in her seat. Phil pushed her back down onto her butt.

  
Clint, Thor, Tony, and Bruce all wanted pizza too. Bucky and Steve wanted the chicken off the adult menus, which the adults were fine with knowing their appetites.

  
“What do you want Nat?” Sam asked her. She looked down at her menu, thinking. Honestly, she wasn't very hungry. Her body was too stressed out over the whole thing to worry about eating. She shrugged.

  
“How about nuggets and rice?” He suggested, circling them on her page with green crayon. She liked rice.

  
“Okay."

  
Sam smiled at her.

  
Their waitress arrived then to take drink orders. Sam jumped in and asked for orange juice and water for all the kids, as well as ordering the kids meals early so that they could eat sooner.

  
“We just flew in from the States" Phil explained, bashfully. “It's been a long day.”

  
“Oh, it’s fine" the waitress, Christina her nametag read, reassured. “The little darlings look pooped.”

  
“I'm not!” Thor shouted, leaping out of his seat for emphasis. “ I could fight a whole army! I am Thor! The mighty warrior!”

  
“Odie sit down" Sam snapped.

  
“You're not Thor” Clint snorted, “Thor is mighty. You're tiny.”

  
“I am not!”

  
“Boy’s!” Natasha hissed. Both Clint and Thor turned to give Natasha guilty looks, bickering forgotten.

  
“Wow. She's a tough one" Christina chuckled.

  
“She's the woman of the house” Scott nodded as Sam smiled at her.

  
“Hey!” Wanda whined, looking up from the tic-tac-toe game she was playing with her twin, “I'm older!”

  
“I'll be right back with your drinks" Christina chuckled again, taking her leave.

  
“You almost blew the cover!” Clint shrieked, throwing his fork at Thor, “you could have killed us!”

  
“That's pretty dramatic" Bucky snorted, throwing a red crayon at Clint. Steve smacked the back of his head and told him to go get it because he needed it for his drawing.

  
“You're pretty dramatic" Clint grumbled, shrinking in his chair. Natasha patted him on the head.

  
“Daddy I h-hungry" Bruce whined, throwing his blue crayon across the table. Tony looked up from his intense coloring, mostly just scribbles, to blink wide eyed at Bruce.

  
Phil sighed in sympathy, “Only a little bit longer green bean."

  
Bruce pouted, eyes welling up with tears. Natasha grabbed the crayon the younger avenger had thrown and handed it to Phil to give back to him. Phil smiled at her in gratitude.

  
“Daddy?” Tony asked, curiously.

  
Sam perked up, “Yes Tony? You okay?”

  
Tony blinked in surprise, then looked over at Scott. Sam seemed to understand then, because he said, “do you want papa?”

  
Tony frowned, slowly shaking his head. His eyes cleared once realization caught up with him and he scowled, breaking his green crayon with a snap. Natasha hid her giggle behind her hand.

  
Once the drinks had arrived and the adults orders had been placed, everyone relaxed again into comfortable quiet. The twins were working on a word jumble together, Pietro having no difficulties and helping his sister understand. Thor and Clint were playing eye spy and by the younger boys smirk, he was doing the same thing he did to them on the ride here. Bruce and Tony were drawing each other pictures and giggling happily together after being apart so long. Steve and Bucky were talking with the grownups about moving in.

  
Natasha just watched them all. She was relaxed right now yes, but she still knew something could go wrong. Something could happen to screw all this up. They couldn't stay like this forever for one thing, they just couldn't. The world needed them. They were in a new country for another thing, that was a recipe for disaster.

  
Best to observe and remember, but not get attached. It wouldn't last, nothing ever does.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'll probably be editing this sometime in the future so yeah. Also I'm feeling sexual tension between Sam and Scott and that was a total accident. I'll put them together if you want. Don't forget to comment and kudo!


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